So, the day of the competition arrived. I wasn't feeling too confident okay, I wasn't feeling confident at all, but hey, I had a katana, a cool stance (sort of), and the will to look like I knew what I was doing. That's gotta count for something, right?
On my way to the competition, I bumped into Astel, who looked at my katana and raised an eyebrow. "Are you really gonna fight with that katana? You think you can get past those disciples' with just... that?"
I stared at my sword. "But Elder Kai said it was for my lack of martial talent."
Astel sighed, clearly trying not to laugh. "Well, it's supposed to be used with the Elemental Jade Stone to harness its full potential."
I blinked. "What's that?"
Astel gave me a deadpan look. "Didn't you use one during the Qi Harmonization class?"
I scratched my head. "Oh yeah, yeah, I know that. So... why didn't you tell me about this before?"
Astel shrugged. "Oh, I thought the readers would like a nice plot twist."
I paused. "Good point."
Without missing a beat, I rushed off to my room to look for the stone. If there was a chance that this thing could turn me from a floor-sweeping swordsman into an actual contender, I was all in.