Episode 2 World Tournament
The Alascia Academy of Martial and Spiritual Arts. It is the most prestigious institution and many of the graduates went on to become very powerful and very influential spiritual energy users.
"What is this guy doing?!"
Inside the Academy was the state of the art fighting arenas. Its capabilities include being able to choose any kind of location with hardware powerful enough to simulate desert winds and rocky terrains among other conditions.
Today, the preliminary for the World Tournament took place in Alascia. First match was between Sung-Hoon and Damien.
"Are you going to move or just stay there until the time runs out?!" Damien shouted, shocked at the actions Sung-Hoon was taking.
As soon as the match started, Sung-Hoon did not move one inch. The audience's reaction was not good, to say the least, but the most annoyed person there was Damien. Damien had been raised to become the best in everything he put his hands on and Sung-Hoon's behavior was so strange, Damien did not know what to do. As such he decided to keep running circles around, using his blistering speed and keep looking for an opening but…
There is no opening!
"Come on, move! Do something!"
"Why aren't you attacking Damien?!"
The audience kept growing more and more angry.
The match was taking place in a rocky wasteland. Damien's heavy footsteps cracked the ground at each and every step. However, suddenly, Sung-Hoon's finger twitched, as if by reflex.
"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting Damien." Sung-Hoon said, while the small rocks around him started to float and keep rising up.
"You're finally facing me?!" Damien jumped at the occasion and launched an attack. Damien was so fast, he was leaving after-images behind and he took advantage of that to lunge at Sung-Hoon's blind spot.
"Finally!" The audience was shouting.
Within a few inches of Damien's foot making contact with Sung-Hoon's body, he suddenly got flung to the ground. The pressure was strong enough to create microfractures in many of Damien's bones and his muscles buckled under the weight.
What the–
The audience was as confused as Damien. Damien's affinity to wind, despite not being a monarch. was a force to be reckoned with but…
"What the hell is your…" The pressure and weight applied to Damien's body kept increasing until he went unconscious.
"The winner is Sung-Hoon!" The announcer shouted from outside the arena, in the announcing room that every announcer is obligated to stay in.
The audience was left dumbfounded. Damien was one of the most powerful people in the Academy's 2nd year course and rumors were going around before the preliminaries that he would secure a spot in the Humanity Team.
The first aid medics quickly made their way in the arena and checked on Damien.
"All of his muscles are limp!" One of the medics observed upon touch.
"Fractures at the ribs, shoulders, hands and legs confirmed!"
The medics quickly and gently took Damien off the ground and put him on a stretcher.
"I'm sorry, Damien. I need to win this." Sung-Hoon whispered quietly enough that barely anyone was able to hear.
The medics then made their way out of the arena. A few people in the audience were intrigued at what just happened and some were excited at the prospect of fighting Sung-Hoon.
*
The Academy normally teaches people from childhood to adulthood, so not many people happen to join the Academy and join the 8 Kings. Sung-Hoon however, was the only one to join the Academy that year. The news of an outsider and someone unknown, at that, angered the student body that had idolized the 8 Kings. That said, the 8 Kings did not protest whatsoever and upon noticing that, the student body had come to accept Sung-Hoon and started to think that he had a mysterious power that allowed him to be 4th Rank in the 8 Kings.
At the Academy, children are first sorted into the two categories. Normals and Monarchs. Normals and Monarchs can have the same affinity as the Monarchs, the only difference being the way power is used. A normal can only use his Spiritual Energy to interact with the environment and make use of their affinity that way. Monarch's however have complete control of their affinity at birth and do not need to use the environment to make use of their affinity.
Damien was one of the most powerful Normal Wind users at the academy and so the news of his defeat had shaken up the student body and even some of the lower ranked Kings.
"What kind of trick did that guy use to beat Damien like that?!" Was the only thing Sung-Hoon heard at the Academy that day. In between classes, at the resting area, inside the dorms.
The Academy had state of the art technology integrated in each and every place inside. The Resting Area was made of a building in which students could go and buy food, refreshments, sweets and virtually anything they wish. There were tables and chairs both inside and outside the Resting Center, however, only a small part of the outside area was paved and green grass covered a big part of the Resting Area. After Sung-Hoon's fight was finished, he quickly made his way and sipped on his favorite alcoholic drink, a 2019 Richebourg wine. It had stayed bottled for a good 50 years.
"I saw your fight there." An unknown woman came up to Sung-Hoon while he was sitting on the grass and sipping on his glass of wine.
Who is this woman?
"My name is Hortensia." The woman said, with a look on her face that showed how much she was interested in him.
"Can I help you?" Sung-Hoon replied, annoyed that his peace and quiet was disrupted.
"Do you remember anything from your past?" Hortensia's question came out of the blue and shocked Sung-Hoon so bad that he spit his wine.
Who is this woman?!
"I see… You don't remember me." Hortensia was a bit disappointed.
How does this woman know?!
"Then you must be mighty surprised that I know about the fact the last 19 years of your life are a complete blur."
"Who are you?" Sung-Hoon took a chance on Hortensia.
"You will find out soon enough. Me telling you now could put your life in danger, so for now, let's start as friends."
Friends?! Was she my girlfriend or a family member perhaps?
Stragenly, Sung-Hoon did not feel any aversion to befriending this person and decided to go along with it.
"Want some?" Sung-Hoon said, pointing at the bottle of wine sitting near him on his right.
"Sure." Hortensia said with a smile and look on her face that inspired feelings of nostalgia within Sung-Hoon.
At that time, it had gotten dark enough outside for the lights to start working. The fountain in the middle of the paved area had also started working as well. It had been stopped in the morning due to a malfunction and this combination of coincidences had created quite a pleasant atmosphere.
"When is your next fight going to be?" Hortensia inquired as Sung-Hoon was pouring her a glass of wine, the wind slowly starting to pick up.
The smart watch that Sung-Hoon was wearing suddenly received a notification.
"Looks like it's tomorrow in the afternoon. Who's this guy?" Sung-Hoon confusion was written all over his face.
Hortensia took a peek at Sung-Hoon's smart watch.
"I know him. Killian Doi. He is a very skilled lightning user who's capable of creating three orbs." Hortensia's insight piqued Sung-Hoon's attention.
"Orbs?"
Hortensia looked at Sung-Hoon for a few moments, as if Sung-Hoon asked something obvious.
"The Orb Technique. Hortensia said. "The technique was first created by a normal fighter to intensify the effect of his abilities. While not much is known about him the orb technique allows someone to store his spiritual energy in a single point in space and by using the environment to their advantage, convert it to whatever their affinity is."
"You should try it tomorrow." Hortensia added.
The wind had started to blow and Hortensia's beautiful deep blue hair fluttered in the wind, the light from around her shining on her hair and face.
"Aren't you going to drink that? Sung-Hoon said, somewhat annoyed. It's a 2019 wine."
Hortensia swirled the wine in her glass and took a sip.
"That tastes amazing." Hortensia said while making sure to enjoy the taste of the wine.
The men's combat uniform consisted of undergarments that covered their body from neck to toe and allowed for good ventilation and heat regulation. A t-shirt and shorts created from the same material added the finishing touches. Sung-Hoon's uniform was white with blue stripes the same color as his and Hortensia's hair and eyes. Sufficient technological advances allowed for the spiritual energy that everyone gives off passively to be stored inside fabric and reinforce it, acting like old steel armor.
"Thank you for the drink. I'll be looking forward to seeing your fight tomorrow." Hortensia said after she put her glass down on the grass and started to make her way to the women's dormitories.
I wonder… How much does she know about me and my past…
"Time to go eat, read some manga and fall asleep." Sung-Hoon said as he got up and stretched his body. "I'm also looking forward to tomorrow's fight as well."
*
World Tournament Humanity Preliminaries Day 2
"In the left corner, the sole transfer student this year and the man who effortlessly defeated Damien, a runner-up for one of the spots on the Humanity Team, Sung-Hoon!" The announcer said, his words electrifying the audience and amplifying their expectations.
"In the right corner, Killian Doi, another runner up for the team spot and the man who managed to climb to the 3rd rank of Lightning users, defeating hordes of Monarchs on his path of domination!" The audience's reaction was much more welcoming for Killian Doi, many of them offering encouragement.
So this is Killian Doi, his aura is definitely nothing to sneeze at, I can feel his power from the opposite end of the arena!
The two fighters made their way to the center of the arena while the audience cheered, getting more and more excited about the upcoming fight.
"Did Hortensia tell you about me last night?" Killian said, talking in Sung-Hoon's ear.
Sung-Hoon did not react.
"Well, either way, let's have a great fight!" Killian said, his excitement amplifying the intensity of his aura.
The audience all stopped speaking at once and only silence remained. It did not take long for that silence to be filled with the sound of lightning crackling. Sure enough, three orbs started floating behind him in a triangle shape. Lightning connected the three orbs together and what was most impressive was the speed at which he gathered electricity.
Sung-Hoon skipped entering his usual stance and instead relaxed his whole body.
How do I make orbs of gravity… Maybe create a small black hole?
Soon enough, the space had started to distort in three points in space.
What the hell is that guy doing?
Now to contain the black holes and increase the output of my spiritual energy.
The ground beneath Sung-Hoon's feet started to crumble for a bit, but sure enough, the gravity waves of the Monarch of Gravity were being absorbed by the black hole.
This is going to be difficult… Now to link the orbs together…
Sweat started to fall off Sung-Hoon's forehead and everybody including Killian could only watch what was happening.
I can't link them! I have no choice but to combine them into one single orb.
The orbs then combined into a black hole the size of a football. The space around and in front of Sung-Hoon distorted so badly, it was impossible to make out anything, which Sung-Hoon took advantage of to go for a back attack.
"Not so fast!" Killian reacted just in time and despite the gravitational pull emitted by the black hole, he managed to escape within an inch of his life.
I've never seen anything like this before! Is that a goddamn black hole?!
"It's over!" Sung-Hoon shouted, the effort that was required to keep his power stable was audible in his voice.
At that moment, a few inches away from the black hole, a bright light had appeared, however it was so fast, only Killian with his lightning enhancements was able to catch even a glimpse of it.
"Quasar Blast!" Sung-Hoon released his spiritual energy the same way a quasar would let rip a gamma ray. Its speed was so quick that Killian's lightning enhanced speed wasn't enough to dodge the Quasar Blast.
The attack hit Killian with its full force. If Sung-Hoon did not use his entire being to weaken that attack, his body would have been obliterated. Instead it only hit Killian hard enough to make him go unconscious.
"A-And the winner is… Sung-Hoon! The announcer said after snapping out of the silent staring. This time, Sung-Hoon ended the fight with a clean knockout, using abilities that I'm sure not many of us have ever seen!
Instead of the crowd cheering and screaming, they were still silent. The attack that knocked out Killian Doi could have easily destroyed the solar system and even the galaxy if uncontrolled. Some of the people in the audience were scared out of their wits, some were looking at Sung-Hoon in awe and some even passed out from the gravity waves spilling out and applying incredible pressure on their bodies.
I didn't expect his gravity affinity to be this strong! If he is able to do this without basic spiritual energy manipulation…
Hortensia had looked upon Sung-Hoon in horror.
"Your destiny is the same this time as well, huh…" Hortensia said, her shock turning into sadness and sorrow.