Noah had studied the enemy before him for a while now.
Ian Lark. Background, Unknown. Backing, Unknown. He liked to use speed type Martial arts.
The teen would rather not get involved with such a mysterious character but the guy attached himself onto him like a leech. "Will you tell me what I need to know after this is done?"
Ian smirked. "It depends on your performance."
Noah's brows creased but he threw those thoughts away as he executed his Martial Art. Berserk Tiger Art: Predator's Physique!
This was the culmination of one's understanding of his Martial art, the ability to drive Impetus to achieve the closest state to one's Martial arts.
Noah never used the move designed for the Azure Dragon Art because his body would quite literally break down, he only activated maybe a tenth of its actual power. But that story was not for now.
The Impetus in his body rolled in waves as it turned into waves of vitality and nutrients that transformed teenager. His muscles tensed as they doubled in size, stretching his clothes thin and on the verge of tearing off, luckily they were made for such an occasion. His nails stretching outwards, glowing with a sharp light. Right now, Noah released an aura of immense bloodlust as he completed his transformation.
Ian's transformation wasn't less spectacular. Storm Cheetah Art: Hunter's Physique! Ian's transformation didn't increase his muscles as much as his opponent's but it did grant him an increased height of 7 foot. His eyes reflected a calm light as he glanced at his enemy showing the patience of a hunter, waiting for a weak point to appear.
"I don't have time for this!" Noah knew he would be at a disadvantage if he attacked first but he still did it. Tiger Steps! He moved with amazing speed as he approached his enemy. Berserk Tiger Punch!
"Hmph." Ian merely snorted as he moved to the side. Storm Cheetah Art: Hunter's Chase!
Noah's eyes widened as he felt his punch connect with air. He noticed a blur to his side and quickly turned around, making an X with his hands.
A boom sound echoed in the forest as Noah was forced a few meters back before he managed to disperse the force within that punch. His eyes squinted after he did, maintaining his X position as he thought. 'He was holding back during his previous spar. This speed of his is really unbelievable.' His gaze towards his enemy became a lot more severe as he spoke. "Are you really only a Rank 4 Martial artist?"
Ian laughed. "Believe me, I am." His body then turned into a blur once more as he dashed forward.
Noah, having learnt his lesson, chose to stay grounded as he waited for the enemy to approach. Sweep! This was the move he executed once Ian got close enough.
The latter jumped up, reaching an impressive and unbelievable height of 7 meters, as he dodged the attack. Yet, Noah kept on moving as if he anticipated that.
His original moving stance changed as he bent his knees before jumping up. Tiger's Leap! Tiger's Claw!
A ripping sound was heard as Ian looked at his bleeding chest in surprise as he fell down. He quickly controlled his Impetus to stop the bleeding as he knew the fight wasn't over yet.
He was right. Berserk Tiger Art: Meteor Fall! The falling Noah rolled in the air and smashed down hard onto the ground, making it concave under his massive strength.
Luckily, Ian had already jumped to the side and had managed to dodge the attack. He quickly circled around before punching out at his opponent's chest. Momentum Punch!
With the already impressive speed of Ian, Noah could do nothing as the attack landed on his chest and sent him flying backwards.
"Haha, did that hurt dude?" The carefree teen crouched as he placed his hands in his knee, panting softly as he spoke.
Noah's lips twitched as he stood up slowly. Only the idiot before him would talk while having a battle. His attention turned to his chest, knowing that attack must have broken some bones. "Hmph." The teen's figure blurred slightly as he rushed at his opponent.
Ian smiled helplessly. Any other person seeing his panting would have also taken the time to rest, but the maniac before him actually wanted to keep on fighting. He wanted to retreat but Noah had already reached him.
The maniac held onto Ian's hands and pulled him forward before kneeing at his face. The carefree teen was obviously no slouch, his fast reactions allowed him to place his arms forward before the knees reached him. "Ugh." He had blocked it, but the aftershocks still shook his mind slightly. And this was all the maniac needed.
Claw Stream! Noah's hands turned into a blur as he swung out with his claw like fingers and attacked.
Cheetah's Edge! Although mentally shaken, Ian still reacted in time as he executed his Art's retreat move, dodging some of the attacks aimed at him. Unfortunately, there were too much. A lot of cuts appeared on his body as the fight progressed.
This continued until the two heard a loud siren sound. It was the exam's ending call.
Hearing this, Noah clicked his tongue. "You were lucky."
"Hah, you think I needed saving? I'll wipe the floor with you next time!" Ian responded in kind as they walked towards the shore of the island.
The exams for the first years of the Blood Sea camp has finished. And Noah had passed.
***
Noah passed through house by house in absolute silence. He had finally been given permission to leave the island for a while so he was headed home to give his family the proof of his exams and more importantly, to see his sister.
The second motive was why he was sneaking around in his family's estate. He wanted to spend some time with her first then see his parents because he knew he wouldn't be able to otherwise.
Finally, he got to the familiar building that was his house. His eyes looked at it with coldness for a while before it melted.
He had heard his sister's laughing voice.
Curious, he jumped up to the first floor and looked through the window.
Noah froze.
Before him, was his ever beautiful sister. And ...
She was laughing with his parents as they sat at the dinner table.
Noah wasn't an idiot. He could easily see from her expression that her emotions weren't fake or false, she was truly enjoying her time with her family. Looking at her wrist, his face turned even colder.
He was now a Rank 4 Martial artist, people of that level possessed amazing eyesight. Looking at her two hands, he would have assumed that she had merely reattached her wrist but he could see no such scar mark. Earth's technology hadn't progressed to the point where even the scar mark from a missing hand would be taken care of.
They had lied. All that care and love she had shown to him were all fake. The scene where her hand had been cut off was also fake, after all it was quite easy to change someone's face with surgery, it could be easily noticed but Noah wasn't paying attention at the time when they cut off her hand.
His world crumbled as he watched the family he hated laugh with the woman that betrayed and used him.
Noah tensed as he remembered Ian's words about having too much guilt on his shoulders. It was then he remembered the people he had to kill to reach this stage. All because he had been tricked by his sister.
A murderous and crazy smile appeared on Noah's face as he glanced at the family he despised with his heart. But he held it back. He was much weaker than his father and possessed no backing at the moment so he could do nothing here.
Silent, he left the area stealthily the same way he came. Reaching the docks near his home, Noah brought out his phone as he spoke with no emotion evident on his face. "Ian, I need your help."
And so, Noah Da Silver experienced his first heartbreaking betrayal from the only person he ever considered dear.