Reaching home, the first thing Jake did was read through the letter. On it were several instructions on how to participate, as well as the key rules and regulations for the tournament. Listed in the letter were the key rules:
1) All participants must be below sequence 3, Blood Exchanger, to participate. Anyone above the stated sequence will be disqualified from participation.
2) No killings of any sort are allowed in the rounds. Failure to comply will lead to arrest by the FoS.
3) Any sort of forfeit must be told to the referees before the start of the round. Failure to comply will lead to disqualification of entry.
4) No fights or brawls are allowed outside the arena. Failure to comply will lead to disqualification of entry and a ban from the Arena.
5) No interaction with the audience while in the arena. Failure to comply will also lead to disqualification.
What strange rules, but anyway, those are not my concerns anyway...
Scratching his head, Jake became confused by some of the rules, especially the last one. Believing that they must have their reasons, he continued reading the letter.
After he finished reading, he called them to confirm his participation. Once they registered him, they informed him that his match would be in three days. Knowing that his debut match for the tournament was coming up, Jake went to see the old man and informed him of his decision. Edward simply gazed upon him, making Jake feel nervous, before telling him to get ready for their usual sparring session. Jake felt that their spar was more intense than before, but he shrugged it off, thinking that the old man was preparing him for the tournament.
When they finished sparring, he bid Edward farewell and limped back home, his muscles sorer than ever. In the empty field, a pair of old, wise eyes stared at the young man's back, concern radiating from them.
Muscles still sore, Jake managed to fall asleep, for he felt that Prathee Sanrak was nearly completed. This knowledge itself made him giddy with joy, for he felt that he would be stronger again.
The next day, in the morning, he headed to the garden, where he started practicing Prathee Sanrak. Just as the allocated time was nearly up, he felt something in his mind, like something felt... complete.
Prathee Sanrak had been perfected.
Unable to contain himself, he hurriedly called out to the book. "Hey, are you awake?! Come out and give me a new art. I have completed Prathee Sanrak, and I need something more combat-oriented."
Out from his mind emerged the book, its pages flipping. Suddenly, it stopped.
Bright, dark words etched themselves onto the pages, on which was written another art form:
Metal type art-
Name: Klingenwelle
Inclination: Offense
Description: Klingenwelle imbues metal qi onto your fingers, causing them to attain sharpness comparable to steel knives. This is perfect for practitioners who desire to wield swords and other bladed items, for Klingenwelle helps in getting intuitive with blade aura.
Directions for training: Insert hand into heated up sand for an hour every. Note- temperature of sand must be around 100-200°L, the higher the temperature the stronger the art would be, but exceed this range, and hand would be crippled. After the heat treatment, use a whetstone of appropriate quality to slowly grind the fingers for half an hour. Thos step should be done at leat once a week, a maximum of twice a week.