Pre-story A.N.: Ah whelp, I did it again. If you have a question, see the bottom of the page.
By the way, for those of you (and there are very few who will read this story) who wonder what happened to my Naruto/GoT story, the next chapter is about 50% done. I'll try to update it soon.
Chapter 1: Enter the scholar
"The Yue family, while not being one of the ten great families, has acquired considerable power and influence thanks to their specialty; Shinsoo manipulation. Skilled manipulator are even rumored to be able to read the Shinsoo currents in their environment to accurately guess other people's emotions, or even thoughts. The Yue family has produced strong wave controllers, some of whom even became High Rankers."
"Why don't you tell me something I don't already know?" The insolent boy with green hair and matching eyes asked in a bored fashion, causing the consternation of his instructor.
"Young Master, had you not skipped the last two lessons, perhaps I would have broached much more advanced topics. As it stands, I have to make sure the basics are covered," the instructor said. His only answer was a long yawn.
"Although, I should maybe reveal the secret behind Shinsoo manipulation in order to keep your attention," the man said as he smiled conspiratorially.
Now, this caused the green-haired boy to sit up straight in his chair and listen to his teacher with rapt attention.
"What most people don't know about Shinsoo is-"
"Min-jun! M-i-n-j-u-n! Are you listening to me?" The man with eyes and hair the color of fresh grass shook his head in exasperation.
The boy, Min-jun, looked dazedly at his surroundings. He had been often lost in his thoughts these last few days. He spotted the man - his brother - standing a few feet to his left, leaning against the pristine white wall.
"Sorry, brother, you were saying?" Min-jun seemed unabashed by his lack of attention.
The man only smiled sadly, "Do you still see them?"
The green-haired boy knew instantly what the man was referring to and gave a small nod.
His brother came nearer. Once he stood in front of the boy, he put his hands on Min-jun's shoulders, gripping them tightly. If the boy felt any discomfort, he didn't show it.
"Remember Min-jun, you have to go up," he reminded the boy for the umpteenth time.
"What is at the top?" Min-jun asked a little sullenly. He wanted to begin the ascension of the inner tower but Headon remained the only entity which decided whether he was worthy of climbing the floors. If he could become a Regular. It seemed he hadn't deemed him worthy.
"Everything."
He narrowly evaded a thrust from a Needle which would have pierced his skull. Min-jun shook his head. Members of the Yue family, being especially Shinsoo sensitive, had those from times to times during their teenage years. The problem was that he hadn't been a teenager for centuries, even though he didn't look a day over fifteen.
With a speed many low-ranked regulars would envy, he closed the distance between his enemy and he, and grabbed his opponent's throat in a firm, unyielding grip. He drained the Shinsoo in the area around the guy's head, interrupting his breathing. His foe twitched, his body jerking convulsively as his hands clawed at Min-jun's offending limb but he soon fell unconscious.
'One down...'
He looked around. Two other Regulars were engaged in a deadly dance of fists and Shinsoo blasts. One of them was a Jeonsulsa - a Lightning User - while the other looked like an accomplished martial artist. He idly wondered about the lightning user. He didn't look like he was a member of the ten great families, yet he was able to manipulate Shinsoo without a contract with the floor's guardian.
This could mean either of two things; he was from a branch family to one of the ten great, meaning he had made a 'contract at birth', or it was a natural ability he possessed. Either way, it was interesting.
He wondered if he should intervene. The choice was made for him as a bell rung, signaling the end of the first test. Only 200 regulars remained, out of the initial 400.
The Second Floor examiner then told the surviving Regulars that they had to form teams of three in the next five minutes in order to proceed to the next stage.
The two Regulars who were just fighting looked at each other and, with only a few words exchanged, decided to team up.
"Do you mind if I join you guys?" Min-jun asked politely, coming to a stop next to them.
The lightning user, a boy about his age with straw hair and golden eyes appraised him for a few seconds before extending his hand, "I'm Magnus."
The black-haired martial artist bowed but kept a respectable distance with his fellow Regulars, "You can call me Lee Han."
Min-jun shook hands with Magnus and gave a respectful nod to Lee Han, then introduced himself, "My name is Yue Min-jun."
Recognition entered their eyes as the family name registered. While the Yue family was not as known as the ten great families, it was still fairly well known.
One of Min-jun's hands grabbed Magnus' wrist, while the other took hold of Lee Han's shoulder. Soon, the five minutes were up and they soon found themselves in the room where the second test would take place.
He looked around the room, inspecting the other Regulars. If he focused Shinsoo on his eyes, he could see the flow of Shinsoo in his environment. Shinsoo had a tendency to gather around individuals best capable of manipulating it. It also circulates inside every living thing's body. It was really useful to see which Regular was a threat. He evaluated them to be of a decent level, except a few, who had pitiful amounts of Shinsoo gathered near them and even less swirling inside their bodies. Then he came to a stop when he saw the dark-haired youth with honey colored eyes. He nearly did a double-take. He rubbed at his eyes, but no, what he was seeing wasn't an illusion.
Shinsoo so bright it was almost white gathered around him. Moreover, it seemed to bend to his will. There was no other way to describe it. It was the first time he had seen anything like that, and he had done extensive research on Shinsoo.
A small scuffle had broken out, but he paid it no heed. He wanted to know more about this mysterious boy. The possibilities for research were endless. He shook his head; he was falling into old habits. He would eventually find more about his recent scholarly interests once he reached the top of the tower.
He was interrupted in his contemplations by the Ranker, Lero-Ro, who told them what the next test was going to be. Well, pre-test, more accurately.
"Those who don't pass this pre-test cannot take the next test."
A few moments later, a wall of Shinsoo washed over them, pushing them back a few feet. In all honesty Min-jun could have resisted the Shinsoo wave, but it would have drawn unwanted suspicion and wariness, so he let himself be carried away. Still, he kept his attention on the boy he had observed. His eyes widened at what he saw. The Shinsoo which was around him had formed a protective layer over his body, which repelled the wave of Shinsoo sent by the Ranker. The really shocking part was that it was done instinctively, with no action on the boy's part. Normally, it took dozens - hundreds - of years spent training to reach this level of Shinsoo manipulation.
What the hell was that monster?
He was drawn out of his torpor by Lero-Ro's spiel about luck. Then, to the surprise of all the regular - sans Min-jun - Baam spoke up "Um... Sorry... Mr. Lero-Ro... Um... I don't know why, but I didn't have a problem... Um... To take the test... I should go out and come in again, right?"
The Ranker only watched him fixedly, without saying a word, his eyes slightly widened. Baam took that as a confirmation and he began to run toward the Shinsoo wall. He was deterred when Lero-Ro spoke, "No, Mr. Baam, you're in. I think I made a mistake but it's also luck on your part. You passed, Mr. Baam."
A mistake, my ass! A Ranker wouldn't make such a basic mistake. Plus, he had seen the way the Shinsoo had reacted. This was no mistake at all.
He tuned out the resulting outrage from the Regulars and focused on his two teammates. If they didn't pass this pre-test, he would also fail. He had no worry about Magnus. Since he was a Lightning Use, he had a good proficiency at Shinsoo manipulation, thus probably good Shinsoo resistance. However, Lee Han was another story altogether. If he focused on martial arts, maybe it meant that he wasn't any good at Shinsoo handling and had a lousy resistance.
Lee Han caught his gaze and the meaning conveyed but shook his head. "Although dealing with Shinsoo is not my area of expertise, I believe I can resist this level of Shinsoo concentration. I never had the opportunity to test my resistance, however."
Min-jun nodded, and hoped that what he just said was true. Without much difficulty, Min-jun crossed the wall of energy, not even slightly inconvenienced by it. It drew a gasp from the dark-haired boy and a thoughtful look from the Ranker. He didn't care much about that Lero-Ro guy; the boy was far more interesting. He walked toward the pair, and came to a stop in front of the boy.
"It seems like we both lost the bet," Lero-Ro said, appraising the newcomer with his sharp eyes and quick mind.
However, Min-jun had only eyes for the boy. He extended a hand and introduced himself, "My name is Yue Min-jun. Nice to meet you."
The dark-haired boy looked surprised that Min-jun had his entire attention focused on him instead of the Ranker, though he shook his hand without further ado, "I'm the 25th Baam. It is... nice to meet you too." he said somewhat shyly.
Faster than either Baam or Lero-Ro could react, he tightened his grip on Baam's hand and he brought two fingers to the boy's temple, sending forth a small wave of golden-hued Shinsoo. This was a technique he had developed in his early twenties. It allowed one to see the memories of the target. Unfortunately, the information he could gather was quite vague and he couldn't control what he saw.
In quick succession, images popped in his mind. A cave with no light, a boy lying on the cold, damp floor, then a light, Rachel, Rachel, Rachel, a door, Headon, Irregular, Yuri, Koon, Rak, Lero-Ro. Min-jun stopped the Shinsoo flow, but the images didn't stop flowing into his mind. A blonde man - woman? - , a crown, Rachel, Rachel, a red-haired man, a huge fish, a boy and a girl inside a bubble, a hand that pushed, a boy who fell down the abyss, FUG, Slayer.
The connection was severed and Min-jun took a few steps back. He nearly threw up, his head was spinning so much. He dry-heaved a few times, trying to gather his thoughts.
"Mr Yue!" Baam called, a little shocked at what had just happened. Sure, the green-haired boy had acted weird, but he didn't seem like a bad guy. Lero-Ro wondered if he should intervene. Technically, the Yue heir had broken no rule, since the only regulation between tests was that Regulars shouldn't threaten the physical or mental integrity of other Regulars. The Yue boy's technique, while a clear breach of privacy, did not constitute as a threat or attack. He still decided on reprimanding the boy.
"This, Mr Yue, was uncalled for. The next infraction of the sort will result in you failing the test. Am I clear?"
Min-jun nodded, a little more steady now. His teammates were coming, having already crossed the Shinsoo wall, so he decided to bid the Ranker and the Irregular farewell.
Lero-Ro looked at the boy's retreating back with caution. Distantly, the name Yue Min-jun rang a bell, but for the life of him he couldn't fathom where he had heard that name.
"Are you alright?" Magnus asked once he caught up with him.
"You look a little pale. Do you require assistance?" Lee Han asked, ever courteous.
Min-jun shook his head. "I'm fine. I was just a little dazzled, that's all. Shall we go?"
The next test was simple in essence, though it required bravery and a good amount of trust in your teammates in order to succeed.
After a brief period of rest, Lero-Ro announced something, "Congratulations to all the Regulars who passed the second test. Before proceeding to the next round, a little game will be held. It has no influence on the next test and, should you participate in it and fail, or not take part at all, you will proceed to the next test regardless. The winners of this bonus game will be able to go directly to the next floor."
Excited whispers broke out when the teams heard this announcement. Most of them agreed to participate. Min-jun looked at his teammate, whom both nodded without saying a word.
"This bonus game is called 'Allstar Team'. The rules will be explained if you decide to take part in this game."
About ninety percent of the remaining teams decided to participate. Once everyone was gathered, Lero-Ro spoke once more.
"Then, the rules. You will fight in teams, though these teams will certainly change as the game goes on. Each team starts with 100 points. The game is divided in rounds. There are ten rounds in total. A round has two phases; an auction phase, and a fighting phase. During the auction, you can buy 'available teammates'."
"What do you mean by buying teammates?" A hotheaded Regular asked the Ranker.
Lero-Ro didn't let his annoyance show, "As I was saying, each Regular participating in the game has one of the two following 'states'. If you are part of a team, your state is unavailable. If you do not belong in a team, you are available. That's pretty self-explanatory. Ah, one more precision; only teams can participate in the auction. Keep that in mind."
There were a few confused frowns in the audience, but the rules were quite simple. Koon wondered what the tricky part was.
"You bid with the points you earned. Now, as to the second part of the round... The fighting phase lasts five minutes. The goal is simple, you have to remain standing inside the ring's boundary until the five minutes are over. The designated ring is there."
Blinding spotlights were turned on, illuminating the 'ring'. Well, it was a little lackluster. The ring was only a white line a few inches wide. It was drawn in a circle, which had a considerable diameter. Dozens of regulars could easily fight in its boundary.
"If you are rendered unconscious or if you step outside the ring, you are disqualified. Of course, only Regulars who belong in a team are allowed to fight. If you lose in the fighting phase, you automatically leave your current team and are 'available' for bidding. Your team chooses whether it participates in the fighting step, but if you decide to participate, the whole team has to take part in the fight. At the end of the fighting step, points will be given to each team. Each team which did not participate in the fight will be given 20 points. For each teammate who remains standing in the ring at the end of the fight, the team the Regular belongs to gains 30 points.
"The goal of this game is to belong to the Allstar Team by the end of the ten rounds. The Allstar Team is the team which has the most points. Every Regular belonging to this particular team will automatically get a pass for the next floor. So plan wisely. That is all for the rules. There will be a twenty minutes planning time, and since every Regular is currently unavailable for auction, there will be no auction step for the first round. I will explain the auction in more details once the first round is over. Ah, one more thing. A team from another testing site will join us for this game."
The team in question was comprised of a huge cloaked being and two human-sized cloaked individuals.
The teams were left to their own devices. Koon Aguero Agnis looked at Baam with a considering gaze. He quickly devised their plan, which should allow them to sail past the concurrence. Contrary to what most of the fools gathered there seemed to think, the crux of the game was not to earn a maximum of points. It was about making the right choices. There were two main strategies. The first one was to acquire a good number of skilled teammates. With few participations in battles, it was possible to earn a staggering amount of points. Not to mention that having more teammates gave a numerical advantage in the upcoming battles.
The second strategy, and the one they were most likely to use, was to eliminate dangerous teams. Indeed, if you take out the team with the most points, it was possible to raise your rank.
There is an equilibrium you have to reach between spending points to acquire teammates and saving points to remain the top ranked team. Still, there was something bothering him about the rules. Something important...
"Erm... What are we going to do, Mr Koon?" Baam asked.
Aguero Agnis blinked a few times, chasing a few stray thoughts away. "For now we're going to wait. Let's see who the main players are going to be," he said.
Baam nodded resolutely.
They were handed rectangular tablets by a member of the staff. In the center of the screen, there was a greyed out button with 'FIGHT' written in the middle. Once every Regular had his tablet, Lero-Ro cleared his throat.
"These tablets will enable you to take part in the fights and the auctions. During the pre-fight period, you will have one minute to input your choice. If you decide to fight, simply touch the 'FIGHT' button. Once you do, the choice is locked and you won't be able to undo it. Remember, if a member of your team decides to fight, the whole team will be dragged in the fight. You have one minute to decide, starting from now."
As he said that, the buttons to fight flared to life. There was a timer above the button, which counted down.
"So... Do we fight?" Magnus asked, idly inspecting his nails.
Min-jun shook his head, "It's better to wait. Some teams are bound to participate, and I want to see their skills first," he said, his eyes trailing the team made of the lizard girl, the swordsman and the normal looking guy wearing a tracksuit. While he said that, his thoughts still remained on Baam's team.
Lee Han nodded his consent.
Soon, the allotted time was elapsed. Three teams decided to battle it out, including the Princess of Zahard's team.
"The fighters should head to the ring," Lero-Ro indicated.
The three teams walked to the ring, except Anak Zahard who, in a display of agility and strength, jumped the whole way and landed directly in the center of the ring.
"Hmph, show off!" Regular Dédé Kancho said, his hand twitching on the handle of his sword.
Anak paid no mind to the Regulars she was going to fight soon. They were going to be squashed like bugs. Instead, she looked at the Regulars who had withheld from participating in this round. She assessed carefully the Koon boy. He reeked of deception and foul play. His teammates did not look like much, though she would remain careful of the huge crocodile. The dark-haired one looked weak but there was something about him that called to her. Weird.
Then her gaze caught the green haired boy's. Her eyes narrowed. The boy had beaten her during the Shinsoo resistance part of the tests, though she was a narrow second. She couldn't wait to bash his face in; to prove her superiority. If she wasn't the best, how could she avenge her?
A whistle blew signaling the start of the fight. Immediately, the two boys holding swords rushed toward her position, swords drawn and ready. She scoffed. How foolish. With a swing of her Hook, Green April, one of them was rendered unconscious. The other was grievously wounded.
The other team was defeated quite easily by the Samurai boy, Hatsu. She begrudgingly acknowledged his prowess. He was quite proficient with this dual sword style of his. He would still not be a match for her, not even close, but she could recognize a valorous warrior.
She knocked out the injured foes mercilessly and soon enough Anak's team was the only one remaining. Since there were no more opponents, the round ended with their flawless victory.
Koon's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. This team was going to be troublesome. Still, he had some tools which would decidedly help in an all out fight against the princess of Zahard.
"This lizard is a worthy prey," Rak grumbled, eyeing the green-skinned princess with caution, yet a certain amount of excitement. His hand twitched on his spear.
"Wonderful. Now that the first round is over, we shall proceed to the second round and the first auction. Regulars, please take a look at your tablets."
As one, all the Regulars looked at the black piece of electronics and were understandably surprised when it flared to life. There were portraits of all the Regulars with their names underneath the pictures, and 0 pts written beside the name. Almost all of the portraits were greyed out, with only the portraits of the members of the two defeated teams of the previous round colored.
Understanding shone in Koon's eyes as he quickly came to the conclusion.
"You can only bid on the Regulars whose portraits are not greyed out. To do so, simply touch the portrait and input the amount of points you are willing to spend on these Regulars. In case of an equal bid, the earliest bidder will win. You have one minute to make your choice. Begin!"
Not surprisingly, nobody wanted to bed on the losers of the previous round, choosing instead to save their points for more worthy potential allies. Half of the losers looked defeated, while the other half was angry, spewing curses at the lack of action from the other Regulars. The minute was quickly elapsed and as expected, nobody bought the Regulars.
The second round's pre-battle phase began then and a lot of teams hesitated to participate in the battle, especially considering the outcome of the last round. Who wanted to take on these monsters? Furthermore, when -and not if - they lost, who would be willing to buy them and spend the few points they had on useless fodder?
No, a better strategy would be to wait until they wore themselves out in order to strike and eliminate the most dangerous team. Having made their minds, the vast majority of the teams decided to wait and see.
The pre-battle period came to an end and three teams, once again, walked confidently to the ring. One of them was Anak's team. One of the remaining team was Magnus, Lee Han and Min-jun, and the other was a team comprised of a muscle bound youth, a slender boy with intelligent eyes darting left and right, and the last an insecure-looking girl with wolf ears atop her head.
Once they were all into position, the signal to begin the fight was given. The team with wolf-girl decided to simply observe the two other teams.
Min-jun didn't know when the leadership of their little ragtag group rested in his hands. Still, it amused him to no end when the two other members of his team looked at him, waiting for instructions.
"Magnus, you take on the swordsman. Lee Han, the tracksuit's for you. I'll take care of our green-skinned friend."
The orders given, Min-jun walked unhurriedly toward the princess of Zahard, slouching a little, as if he couldn't be bothered with taking his opponent seriously. Anak's eyes narrowed at the blatant disrespect for her power. She darted forward and jumped, twirling in the air in an impressive display of nimbleness and speed. She brought down her Hook in a wide overhead arc, intent on cleaving the impudent pest in two.
Min-jun, looking distinctly unimpressed, simply raised his hand and materialized a Shinsoo construct. The construct was a mirror, of sorts. It was translucent with an ornate golden frame. Its surface rippled as Green April came in contact with it. Time and space stood still, Anak's motion stopped to her great shock. Then a tremendous burst of power came crashing into her weapon, repelling her. She nearly lost her grip on the Hook as she was sent careening through the air.
She saw the ring get farther and farther away from her as she was propelled in the direction she came from. 'No!' she thought savagely, swinging her Hook. The Green April's body elongated and pierced the ground with caused a great rumbling. Then she retracted its body, causing her to nosedive toward the ring. Once she reached the floor, she rolled a few times. She came to a stop after a few rolls. She glared at the green-haired boy, mustering her righteous fury. Then he clapped mockingly, making her blood boil.
"Congratulations. You didn't even lose hold of your weapon. That is quite a feat, you know. What's more, your weapon withstood the force of my Pa Kua. It must be quite a powerful weapon, perhaps one of the thirteen months series?" He hummed thoughtfully.
The bastard... The sheer arrogance of the statement made her want to puke and her skin crawled in disgust. Still, the power of this Pa Kua, as he called it, was tremendous. There was absolutely no way that this boy was an E Rank regular like them. She refused to believe it. To counter her Green April with only a Shinsoo construct? She had never heard of or seen something like that.
"Now, I believe it's my turn..." Anak tensed as she heard the words, her body readying itself for an onslaught.
In the background, Min-jun could see Magnus send a bolt of lightning at his opponent, who dove under the attack. It still managed to make his hair stand on end as the electricity neared him.
He briefly pondered what technique he could use that was not overkill. After all, he didn't want to kill or maim her, simply incapacitate her. His choice made, he held his arm in front of him, palm facing Anak.
As if sensing the danger, she tried to bolt out of here but was frozen in the air as a wave of Shinsoo ghosted over her skin. She fell in an undignified heap, her thoughts a jumbled mess as the green-haired boy walked calmly. He crouched in front of her and, with a gentleness she didn't think he was capable of, helped her get on her feet. He gently laid his palm against her taut stomach.
"I'm sorry," he whispered in a sickeningly saccharine tone, "You're strong, for an E-Rank Regular. Ah, maybe you'll be more lucky next time?"
He gathered Shinsoo in his palm and then, in a sudden motion, expelled it all. It sent the petrified girl well beyond the boundaries of the ring. Truthfully, it didn't do any damage at all, the only goal was to kick the girl out of the ring. She fell to her knees, breathing deeply as the immobilization wore out.
"Contestant Anak is disqualified," a digitalized voice uttered tonelessly.
Whispers broke out in the crowd of Regulars. The lizard girl, who had so easily wiped the floor with her opponents in the previous battle, utterly crushed in this one. Absolute despair. They shivered as they observed the green-haired boy smile politely as he watched the fights between his teammates and the remaining Squad Anak members.
Baam's eyes were wide. The techniques the Yue heir used were intriguing and seemingly powerful. He idly wondered what Shinsoo was capable of. If it could do this much, what else could it do? He cast a curious glance at Mr Koon and nearly gasped at what he saw.
Aguero Agnis's pale complexion had whitened as he beheld the spectacle. This was not troublesome. This was a clusterfuck of shit. Even if he were to use his father's whole arsenal, he doubted he could do something against the boy. A Shinsoo manifestation capable of repelling attacks from the Green April; unthinkable. The capacity of stopping his opponents at a great distance without even touching them? Way out of their league.
He wanted to help his team. He wanted to help Baam, his new acquaintance - dare he say first friend? - but the odds were stacked against them. His head bowed in shame, his shoulders trembling with powerless sheer frustration. The blue-haired youth looked less like the great Agnis, Koon heir extraordinaire and more like an impotent child.
Rak Wraithraiser scoffed, his massive arms crossed over his chest, "That's why you're a turtle. Cowering in your shell..."
Koon looked up sharply, glaring at the huge crocodile. "Are you blind? Did you not see how overwhelming his strength is?"
"So what?" Rak replied tautly, "You're gonna give up just because this green turtle has shown its claws? Alright, step back and watch as I, the great Rak Wraithraiser, the Leader, handle this situation."
"Mr Koon," Baam's soft voice interrupted the heated argument, "I think that Mr Rak is correct. If we unite our strengths, maybe we could do something. I hope..." he ended, a little unsure.
Koon looked at Baam incredulously for a few second, then threw his head back as he barked a genuine laugh. His hand pushed back rebellious strands of hair as he shook his head in bemusement. When he looked back at Baam, it was with a renewed conviction. "I can't very well let you face this threat alone, can I?"
"Mr Koon!" Baam said warmly, his whole being radiating joy and his eyes conveying emotions the Koon heir could not decipher.
"Well said, turtle," Rak grumbled with a lilt in his voice. Almost as if he were a proud parent.
"Whatever," Aguero Agnis said, rolling his eyes. "Look, the fight's not over yet."
Magnus narrowly avoided a sword slash that would have dealt serious damage had it hit its target. Lightning swirled around his right arm. He threw it forward, willing the lightning spear which erupted from the limb to impale the pesky swordsman.
Hatsu twirled his sword expertly in a circular motion, deflecting the Shinsoo - turned - lightning. He cursed. This was the weakness of his abilities. True lightning travelled at about 220 000 miles per hour. The lightning he generated was in reality Shinsoo which underwent a transformation. As such, it hurt as much as getting hit by a bolt of lightning, yet it travelled at average Shinsoo travelling speed.
Hand to hand combat and close-range fighting was truly his weakness. Manipulating Shinsoo took time, and as such it was not suited for close-range fights. He had nothing to counter or deflect the swordsman's blows. If only he had a weapon...
He carefully assessed the situation of the other fights. To his surprise the lizard girl had been soundly defeated by his teammate. Their martial artist, Lee Han, was locked in a deadly battle of fists and legs, though he seemed to clearly have the advantage. It seemed that for some reason, he was drawing out the fight. He huffed, sidestepping a vertical slash and darting away to put some distance between his enemy and him.
"You seem to be in quite the predicament," the voice of the impromptu team leader echoed in the vast room.
"No shit!" He growled, sizing up his enemy. He slowly circled the black-haired youth, trying to find a hole in his guard to pounce on him, but found none.
Min-jun chuckled warmly. He could help him, but that would defeat the purpose of this fight. It was about him overcoming his shortcomings. If he couldn't find a way to do so, well, that was too bad. Every human being had limits.
He eyed curiously the remaining team. They had not moved since the start of the round, choosing to simply observe the contestants. When muscle-boy saw that he had Min-jun's attention, he laughed boisterously. "So it's our turn, heh?" he said.
Min-jun smiled politely. With a considerable speed, the lean boy and the wolf girl ran on his left and right side respectively, while he faced the remaining team member. They had caught him in a triangle formation. Min-jun was nonplussed.
Without saying a word, he raised his arm and sent a blast of Shinsoo taller than either boys and equally as wide. His opponent grinned savagely and took a deep breath. The Shinsoo ruptured at the seams and became a cloud of particles which was sucked up by the cocky boy. His belly bulged as the last of the Shinsoo entered his mouth.
Min-jun's eyebrows rose in surprise. That was a peculiar ability.
Then the hulking boy spat out the Shinsoo. A ray of Shinsoo twice as large as the original sped toward Min-jun. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the lean boy take out a large hammer from who knows where. Once again, Min-jun raised his arm and the Shinsoo ray simply disappeared when it neared him.
The large hammer was thrown at him, head first. He nearly scoffed. With a wave of his hand he deflected the weapon. What he didn't expect, however, was the dagger hidden behind the hammer. It struck his forearm, embedding itself deep in the muscle. He grunted. His arm became heavy and it dropped, lying uselessly at his side. It twitched sporadically. Poison, really? These Regulars were more dangerous than he thought.
He heard a growl and turned over just in time to see a wide open jaw about to close around his head. It looked like the wolf ears were not just for show, as the girl had turned into a massive grey wolf. He raised his only operating forearm, offering it to the wolf. He used Shinsoo reinforcement to make it hard as a rock. The animal trapped his forearm in its massive jaws. The lean boy rushed at him with a sword drawn, its tip pointing toward him. At the same time, muscle-boy breathed in deeply. Then he spat out the gathered Shinsoo, which took the shape of a spear. It flew toward him, closing in on him quickly.
Then, a few things happened in a quick succession. When the sword-wielding guy was only a few feet away from him, Min-jun pivoted slightly, putting his entrapped forearm in front of him so that it faced the sword. The wolf, which was still biting his appendage was moved around and was used as a meat shield. The sword wielder couldn't stop the momentum and with horror etched on his face, he watched as his sword sunk in the animal's neck. It pierced the tender muscles of the throat and came out the other side.
The wolf turned back into a human girl and didn't even twitch as it fell to the ground, the sword still embedded in her throat as it slipped from the boy's slack grip.
He took advantage of the boy's shock to grab the front of his shirt and likewise used him to shield himself from the Shinsoo spear. The spear tore through the boy's back and he screamed as it scrambled his insides. Its job done; the Shinsoo dissipated. He dropped the motionless body to the floor.
He faced his remaining opponent and watched as terror, anger and grief battled on his face. He took pity on him. Raising his good arm for the last time, he sent a concentrated ray of Shinsoo at the boy. Once again, it was sucked in greedily by his opponent. Only, this time, he didn't stop. He continued to feed Shinsoo to the ray. The boy couldn't stop it. Once he had begun sucking Shinsoo, he couldn't stop the motion unless the Shinsoo flux ended. His stomach bulged and expanded, his belly distended. His stomach exploded causing his body to shut down. His lungs collapsed and the shock made him lose consciousness.
A bell rang, indicating the end of the round. The robotic voice spoke, "Regulars Magnus, Hatsu, Min-jun and Lee Han win this round." So Ship Leeso had been defeated.
A team of medics rushed to the downed contestant. They had to act fast in order to avoid cardiac arrest.
The Regulars were silent as the grave. Using the boys' own teammate as a shield not only once, but twice... It was cruel and despicable. Yet it proved to be efficient, in a ruthless way. If they had been wary of the boy before, now they were shying away from him. The idea of facing him in a battle was downright terrifying.
Even Rak was uncharacteristically silent. He gazed wordlessly at the green-haired boy who made his way out of the ring. Strong. He was not a turtle. He was a predator, lying in wait, ready to pounce on his prey. It made his blood boil. To think that he would find someone like him here...
"Turtles..." he said, addressing his teammates. Koon looked deep in thought as he formulated and discarded plans.
Baam's hands shook slightly. It wasn't so much that he was afraid of dying. He had nearly died during the first test. It was a scary thought, but it wasn't what was causing so much distress in the dark-haired youth. The fact that it could have been him delivering the fatal blow to Mr Rak or Mr Koon... To him, it was a terror beyond words.
A comforting hand was put on his shoulder and he sagged in relief. "Mr Koon..." he said. His eyes widened in surprise as he saw that it wasn't the Koon heir but the green-haired object of his thoughts who rested his hand on his shoulder.
Aguero Agnis tensed. He pulled a knife out of his Manbarondenna. "Baam, get away from him," he said, holding the knife threateningly. Rak twirled his spear in the air, ready to bring it down on the impudent fool.
Min-jun held up his hands in a non-threatening manner. "Wow, calm down. I'm not going to do anything to anybody. I came to make a proposal, actually," he said.
Aguero Agnis kept his eyes trained on him and it was only when he saw Baam's imploring gaze that he reluctantly put away the knife he held.
The green-haired boy smiled beatifically, "Excellent. Now, what I want is simply for your team to participate in the next round, and for Baam and I to have a friendly one-on-one spar," he said.
Koon tensed. He wanted to say no; there was absolutely no way Baam would be able to face him alone. However, he didn't want to reveal that their team's weakest link was Baam so he held his tongue.
"If you win," Min-jun continued, "I'll teach you about Shinsoo manipulation."
That was a tempting offer, the rational part of Aguero Agnis' mind supplied. If Baam could learn his techniques, their team's chances of survival in the next tests and other Floors would rise by a fair margin.
"And what if he loses?" Rak asked warningly.
Min-jun smiled and what he said next froze them.
"Then he shall die."
Omake:
Min-jun held up his hands in a non-threatening manner. "Wow, calm down. I'm not going to do anything to anyone. I just came to say 'hi'. I must say that I'm captivated by you," he said, eyeing Baam with interest.
Koon considered him for a few seconds, "You swing both ways?" he asked with a straight face.
"Mr Koon!" Baam shouted, pink dusting his cheeks.
"Actually, I might. Baam looks like an especially tasty treat," Min-jun chuckled warmly at his joke.
"Mr Yue!" Baam's cheeks were scarlet. He groaned, hiding his face behind his hands as both boys exchanged salacious innuendos.
"Turtles' mating season is coming soon," Rak supplied helpfully.
"Not you too, Mr Rak!" Baam cried out in despair.
A.N.: Huh, that's a lot of words for a first chapter. Not really used to it, but meh, whatever. I have a few scenes of the next chapter written. I'll write the rest when I can.
So, a first chapter heavily centered on three OCs, and particularly on one of the main characters of this story. I'm sure you have questions.
I'll begin by saying that I hate OCs stealing the spotlight in stories. I mean, the universe is already consequent enough to use them instead of inventing characters.
While Yue Min-jun will be present in the first few chapters, it'll be only so that he may teach Baam what he needs to know in order to grow stronger fast. Then he will disappear for some time, and shall appear again later along the storyline.
So, why did I chose to introduce him in this story? Well, he is the not-so-typical scientist type. He loves research and experimentations. In this story, you might read (or not) about physics, mathematics, statistics, chemistry. It will be a pivotal point in Baam's development as an individual and as a strong Wave Controller. You shall see...
So, basically, he's a Gary Stu?
Let's be honest. The guy is a few centuries old, and had had a lot of time to perfect his Shinsoo mastery. Plus, he was facing E-Rank Regulars. Even then, he managed to get wounded by a team of them. A High Ranker would wipe the floor with him; it wouldn't even be close. He's a scholar, not a fighter. Also, he's not as handsome as Baam, and he has no particular talent, unlike chestnut boy.
So, where's this scholarly stuff?
Ah, patience, my friends. All in due time.
A.N.2: Well, if you could review to tell me what you thought about that, what I did wrong, what you hated about it. Constructive criticism is always appreciated!