After some seconds of experiencing this, Jiko undid the technique and Kazi collapsed to the floor, almost unconscious.
'The fuck was that?!'
After some time passed, he was able to stand on his feet again.
"You've passed the test. You did excellently well, better than I've ever seen or even heard of. Rest for today. Meet me here by five o'clock, evening."
"Yes..."
Without waiting around, Jiko left. All Kazi saw was that the man before his very eyes had disappeared, leaving behind a gentle wind. 'This technique again. I have to learn it.'
. . . 7 years old . . .
Nothing had changed much. Kazi kept up with his individual training and the one he received from school and Jiko. He had progressed almost halfway with the clan's technique, but was not nearly as ready to use it whenever.
For the school training, there wasn't much to be learnt. They only taught them the basic Sutori combat which Kazi likened to basic military combat called 'kahate' for the time being. Kazi felt like it sounded very similar to another martial art from earth, but ignored it. Apart from sounding similar, they didn't seem to share much in common. One of the major differences was that the kahate taught in the academy could actually be used in numerous practical situations. It was more of a self defence art that focused on dodging, blocking, and some counter attacks.
Seeing an opportunity, Kazi tried to combine the kahate taught in the academy with the one he received from his grandmother. After much trial, he was able to improve on the technique his grandmother gave him using the one taught in the academy. This was nothing new, the kids of big clans mostly used their own clan fighting style, even in the academy.
His clan had no specific fighting style, as once their supposed bloodline technique was activated, they fought like wild beasts almost based off instincts alone. Because of this, all the user had learned prior to this would be useless.
. . . 9 years old . . .
After Kazi turned 8, he stepped up in the academy and entered the third year and they were all moved to class 2. Just like class 1, he remained in class 2-B.
After entering class 2, they began learning even more subjects that taught more complex theories and their practical classes increased with more difficult trainings. The physical classes was no longer meant for just light jugging and warm ups and sparring. The training had gotten intense. Though, to Kazi, it didn't change much as the more difficult training barely worked him up.
One of the newer classes Kazi took interest in was the one that taught about talismans. The concept seemed foreign and enticing to him, so he tried to learn it. Unfortunately, Kazi discovered that his talent at it wasn't great and he would have to spend much more time to learn it, so he gave up, at least for the time being.
. . . End of the year break . . .
The academy gives a short break for the celebration of the year's end and the the beginning of a new year. During this particular break, Kazi's mother, Valera, decided it would be a good idea for them to visit a certain location. It was the place where Kazi's father loved visiting and a place Valera had some friends herself because of how she frequented there before her husband died.
"I stopped going there around the time the war began, since it wasn't very safe outside the wall, but today we will be visiting." Valera looked happy, so Kazi didn't want to spoil it for her, even though he didn't want to go.
Even though he didn't have any special love for Valera, the woman had at least raised him and cared for him, so it wouldn't hurt to show some humanity once in a while.
After preparing for the trip, they left the village. Valera made sure to bring along different cloths for Kazi. These periods brought extremely cold mornings and nights, while the day time was hot. The trip would take three days to get to on foot, but they were riding on an animal similar to a donkey, to it would take a bit shorter, maybe two days or two and a half days. The carrier animal was mostly for comfort and not speed.
"I thought you said it was because of father's death that you stopped going there?"
"Well, after the war, we visited there once, then..."
'Even till now she's still like this about his death, urh.'
It was a bit irritating, but Kazi could also understand the feelings of such a woman in love.
The place they were travelling to was west of the province of Atar. The province of Atar was under the land of fire. Though nobody knew where it was exactly on the world map or the map depicting the land of fire, that only held true for normal people who lived away from the fighting clans and were not involved with them. The sutori lived a secluded life away from major civilisation, and that was where the seclusion ended. They still functioned as any other government would, the only difference being that sutori lived there. Even though these provinces were secret lands, they were only hidden on the map. If one sort to find them, they could do so by asking around from village to village, and from town to town. It is a simple but much complex relationship, but it somehow worked.
While on the travel, they had to stop from time to time to rest, just twice every day, then for the night. At night, Valera would stay awake to keep watch and protect Kazi, but really, he couldn't tell if she was just completely ignoring his strength as an academy student, or if he really appeared to be that weak.
After two days and a half, they arrived at their destination.
"It's a village? Or so." Kazi was a bit confused.
The place was small indeed, small enough to be called just a village, but not big enough to be called a town. The walls were of strong wood, and the roads were properly made so that they produced no dust. 'What is this?' It looked as though the road was covered with a layer of stone that felt more like condensed solidified soil.