Author's first words: I would like to thank Dark Rook for being my beta reader and helping me to beta this chapter onwards.
Chapter four: Separations and Meetings
Dan woke up to the sound of a gong sounded by a disciple. He got ready for his final day at the Chimbian temple. It would be an eventful day. Excited, but also slightly nervous, he walked to the main field to meet the Master.
"Today the test you are about to face will determine whether you are qualified to be a wushu disciple, the condition needed to acquire the martial arts badge you seek," the Master told Dan. "You must proceed to the Grand Arena for the test!"
Dan walked to the arena, opening the huge doors of the hall to reveal Way Peng, Yam, and Kian Yee standing at three points in a circle. Way Peng was wielding a Chimbian sword, similar to the one used yesterday. Kian Yee was wearing a pair of metal knuckles while Yam only had a pair of gloves which had the Yin and Yang symbol emblazoned on them.
"Dan, stand in the middle of this arena," the Master instructed." The rules of the test yesterday apply, but there are a few changes. The weapon can be chosen from this arena, but you begin with nothing. The changes are you have to defeat my three disciples by inflicting a strong blow on them. I shall judge this test."
"Way Peng, aren't you still injured?" Dan asked.
"I was treated with Chimbian herbs. The effects were quick and I feel better already." Way Peng did a somersault in place to prove he was fully recovered.
"I won't go easy on you today" Kian Yee said to Dan as he prepared his stance.
"Now the test begins!" Yam opened his palm. Light collected above it and the room became darker and darker until there was nothing but darkness. A ball of light appeared in his palm and he placed it in his pocket.
Dang! How will I see in this place? Dan thought.
"Prepare yourself! They're about to attack you simultaneously!"The familiar voice instructed Dan.
A noise was heard and Dan imagined the trio closing in on all sides.
"Send me there now!" Dan went into the floor, entering the same realm he went yesterday. The trio ended up crashing into each other.
"I'll send you near a weapon stack."
Dan reappeared next to a weapon stack. He grabbed a sword from it.
How will I know when they're about to attack? The only way to turn the tides of battle would be to steal Yam's light ball, Dan thought.
"Look, I can identify everyone in the dark. Yam is situated about ten feet away at a 30 degree angle to your right, and I can vaguely sense the other two nearby. Be careful!"
Dan lunged in the said direction and swung his sword trying to hit the light wielder. It struck something and it flew to the wall. The ball of light fell out and broke. A burst of light came out from that direction. The light intensity was so great that it blinded Dan. Yam was considered eliminated.
Way Peng and Kian Yee knew this was their chance. Way Peng rushed to Dan, inflicting a strong blow. Dan's body went limp and flew to Kian Yee, where he was punched hard in his abdomen, sending him into a wall. Bloody and bruised, he crashed with an audible cracking sound.
Dan didn't care for his injuries. Getting up and running to Kian Yee, he swayed his sword. It was blocked by Yee's fists with every hit. Dan didn't realize that Way Peng was behind him ready to inflict another blow. He just managed to block that blow, but was hit by Kian Yee's fists. Once again, he smacked into the wall.
Shadow, I need you to bring me there when I show a sign, Dan thought to himself, hoping his strange guardian was still listening.
Dan rushed to Way Peng, who was near the middle, attacking him a flailing sword. Way Peng blocked it effortlessly. Just as Dan expected, Kian Yee was coming up behind him. Dan, using his free hand, grabbed onto the oncoming fist and twisted Kian Yee's arm, making him turn the other direction. Dan's sword was still in Way Peng's grip. While Dan was holding both of them, he focused his chi on himself, Kian Yee's fist, and Way Peng's death hold on the sword. Ice formed on said parts and it hardened, causing everyone to be immobilized in the ice. Dan nodded and he was sucked into his own shadow, leaving an ice shell of himself.
Dan reappeared next to Kian Yee. With his bare hands, he unleashed a flurry of attacks and did a roundhouse kick. The ice connecting Kian and Way Peng shattered.
Kian Yee slid across to the wall and vomited blood. Another elimination.
Way Peng took hold of the ice-encased swords and jerked them out. Dan went to a weapons stack to take another sword. The battle continued as the fighters exchanged attacks.
Way Peng blocked every attack with his two swords, forming an X shape with them. No matter how Dan attacked, he could not break his guard. Then, Way Peng attacked Dan in a quick blur. Dan's one sword was no match for two and eventually he got hit. His leg was bleeding; he knew he had to end this quickly.
Placing his left hand on his sword, he rushed to Way Peng. Pain shot through him every step he took. As usual, Way Peng blocked his attacks. With one last burst of energy, Dan focused on his chi. Ice latched nicely in the middle of the two swords. Slowly it spread down the blade and to Peng's hands. For the second time that day Peng was immobilized.
Dan let go of his sword and went into his shadow. He reappeared next to a weapon stack and took a spear. He threw it at the helpless Way Peng and it hit his left leg. Peng fell on his knees.
"You have passed the test!" the Master announced.
Dan collapsed on the ground, weary from exhaustion and blood loss. At this point he no longer cared about the results.
"Quickly, take these four to the Healing Centre" the Master commanded to the disciples beside him.
Half an hour later, Dan woke. He and the others were on beds, herbs on their wounds. Already he felt like he could walk normally.
A disciple ordered Dan to rest some more, but he couldn't. He waited for another half an hour. The Master came in.
"Ah, it looks like you're all healed up. Here's your badge and certificate."
"Thanks. Is it O.K. for me to walk now?"
"Yes, it is fine, but I have something I need to tell you. You must not use too much of your chi at one time. You just learned about it yesterday and already you're using too much of it. There are consequences when you use too much chi. Your body can only contain so much power; use chi too much and you may explode. Even the amount you used today can cause side effects. Did you feel any pain when you focused chi on your body?"
"Yeah… A bit."
"That was a small part of the side effects. That amount you used can destroy your body. You should think of your safety when you are in battle. Use chi sparingly until you learn to control it."
"O.K. Master, do you know why when I used chi in the middle of the arena it froze faster than it normally did? I felt a chill different than the kind I feel outside."
"Actually, there is a crystal there, but we place it under the floor when a battle occurs. Let me show you." The Master brought Dan to the Grand Arena.
A bright light blue crystal was shining in the middle of the arena. As they approached the crystal, the surrounding temperature grew colder.
"The crystal was here a long time ago, even before the temple was built. The elders discovered it had a vast amount of energy used to create this climate. At that time we wanted our disciples to train in the harshest environment possible. That's why we settled here."
"Oh, that makes sense."
Way Peng, Yam, and Kian Yee came over to them.
"Hey Dan, looks like this is farewell," Way Peng said as he shook hands with him.
"Dan, I'd like you to have this jacket," Yam presented Dan a jacket with two dragons, one red and one blue, emblazoned on the sleeves. "It will change its thickness depending on the temperature."
"Thanks, I like it." Dan shook Yam's hand.
Everyone followed Dan to the store. He started his bike and bode farewell to everyone.
"Thanks for everything and appreciate your teachings," Dan waved at them as he sped off back to his Scout Headquarters. The view of the temple slowly shrunk in the distance until it was nothing but a speck on the horizon.
As Dan was riding, Shadow interrupted him. "Dan, I sense a presence nearby. I think she's in trouble."
True enough, Dan saw a girl down a ledge being attacked by a pack of wolves. He noticed she was holding a drawing pad and a strange pen. Dan put on the brakes and switched the gears to neutral. He took a knife from his knife holster, tied a two-meter rope around it. Dashing to the girl, he threw the knife at the pack of wolves, but missed.
When he reached the girl, Dan grabbed onto her and crashed into a tree,but actually going into the realm. To the girl's confusion, she thought they were in the hollow interior of the tree.
"What are you doing? Running and pushing people into trees? How is that supposed to help me?"
"I should ask you the same question! You were drawing when a pack of wolves was about to attack you!" Dan pointed the drawing pad, noticing the drawing on it. "What? You were drawing a butterfly!"
"Just watch me!" she tore the paper from her drawing pad and threw it out of the hole of the tree, which was in actuality a portal to the realm. The paper turned into a medium sized butterfly that came to life. It began to attack the wolves by fluttering and swaying its wings.
"Ok, that was not what I had in mind…" said Dan, watching the butterfly defeat the wolf."But it's great."
"Then I think it's O.K. to come out." The girl walked out of the portal and Dan followed. To her astonishment, she saw the tree was untouched. There wasn't any crash marks on it. She ignored it and continued drawing another picture.
Dan drew out his knife and spun the rope. He released the rope and it hit a wolf, causing it to drop to the ground. Two wolves came at Dan's side and tried to attack him. The girl finished her drawing and a lion was formed from the paper, but unfortunately it was too small as it was only drawn on A3 size paper. The lion roared in a funny way that seemed to cause the wolves to attack the paper lion. Seeing this as an opportunity, Dan swung his knife towards the pack. Some of the wolves sustained injuries and still more were unhurt.
The remainder came to Dan's side and bit his arms. Dan was flailing his arms and running around in an attempt to shake off the wolves. The wolves came off, but Dan's arms were bleeding.
"You're gonna pay for that!" He took a swing at two of them. They bled crimson and collapsed.
A bigger wolf came after the girl. Dan threw his knife at it but it missed. Luckily, the butterfly came and whipped up a whirlwind, causing the wolf to lift off the ground.
"You! Hit it with your knife!" the girl instructed. Dan threw his knife, hitting its belly. The wolf died on the spot. Once the other wolves realized their leader was dead, they left the scene.
"You should be more careful with that knife of yours; it nearly cut me there."
"Yeah, yeah. But I need to do that to save you."
"I didn't ask you to play hero!"
"Well, you never said I couldn't!"
"GRR! Whatever!"
As Dan saw his wounds bleeding, he unwound the scarf from his neck and wrapped the wound on his right hand with it. Another equally deep wound was ignored.
"Aren't you gonna wrap your other wound?"
"I don't have another scarf. Anyway I'll let that heal naturally."
"I'll heal it," the girl grunted in irritation. She walked over to Dan and touched his left wound. Her hand glowed and his wound healed in just a few seconds. He felt a strange and an entirely new feeling when she touched him.
"Now open the other wound." Dan opened the reef knot on his scarf-bandage. She repeated the healing process.
"There. Is that natural enough for you?" she said sarcastically.
"What are you? And who are you? I've never seen around you before."
"Of course you've never seen me. I don't have a school, but I'm a Red Crescent Moon Society member. The name's Ann. You're a scout, I presume."
"Oh. I'm Dan. Yeah, I am a scout leader. So you don't have a school? If you die in battle, won't you be dead forever?"
"Yeah, but I survived a year without a school, so what is the problem?"
"But a wolf nearly bit you."
"So? I can heal myself. You're so dumb."
"Whatever. So where do you live?"
"I just wander around, dummy!" Ann teased. "I don't have a school, so why bother?"
"Ah," Dan sighed. "It's no use going social on you."
"But I see you have a nice watch, how much did it cost? I bet it's fake gold"
"I'm a prefect, so I have such a watch. But it doesn't do much."
"Does it tell the time?"
"Yes it does. Why I would be wearing it if it doesn't tell the time?"
"'Cuz you're dumb. What other features does it have?"
"GRR! It has a compass for your information," he opened the gold cover to reveal a compass needle and the clock hands.
"But… how come you can't be a prefect when you have a prefect's watch? Did you steal it?" Ann smirked.
"It's a long story… Just wait for a while I bring my motorcycle down here." Dan climbed up the ledge to reach his bike. He started it and let it slide down the ledge while hitting the brakes hard once he reached the base. He switched it off.
"Careful with that monster! You could've killed me with that."
"It won't hurt you."
"How should I know?" Ann asked sarcastically, "So you were saying how you got a prefect's watch…?"
"It happened a year ago….."
Author's space: Today's topic will be about the Red Crescent Moon, or in another name, the Red Cross. These are alchemic healers and they use magic to heal wounds. The red crescent moon symbol on their uniform serves as a alchemic circle to heal wounds. They don't have weapons but they are allowed to have an optional job class to join and use another weapon. Most of them learn magic and use it to defend themselves.
Hey, the shadow guy is back again. I think I heard his name was Shadow. Strange name for a shadow. But anyway, I'll reveal everything in the next chapter!
Author's last words: There you go; the fourth chapter. What do you think? Reviews and comments are appreciated.
