June 22nd/Age 749
West City
Mina spent the past week focusing on refining her combat skills as well as meditating and focusing on improving her odds during the underground fights that she is taking part in.
Using the Bronze Skin spell wouldn't prove too much of a problem. Using her Ki Reinforcement skin in tandem with that meant that Mina could become a tank in terms of power, and that meant that Mina had changed her gameplan for this new fight she was in.
Fight cautiously and swiftly.
"Alright ladies and gentlemen, the new fighter known as Snow had gotten a win in the ring last time, but let's see if she can get lucky twice." Roi announced to the crowd of people surrounding the cage.
Mina was first in the cage and looked on at the people and several strong fighters that had appeared. One such person is the enemy she is about to face.
Feng Chun, Level: 25
Pit Fighter/Mauy Thai Champion
"A man with the power to rival champions on in the martial arts world and has a thirst for blood and carnage. Everyone give Feng a warm welcome." Roi announced as the crowd cheered when Feng entered the cage across from Mina.
Feng is tall at six foot eight with a built frame and bronzed skin. He is nearly bald except for the black shoulder length braid behind his head, and he is wearing crimson boxing shorts with athletic tape wrapped around his hands and feet.
"It's a shame that my next fighter is a child. But don't think that means I'll go easy on you." Feng said with an annoyed look on his face.
"Same goes for you. I don't intend to lose." Mina said back before the fight started and Feng rushed her at blurring speeds. Mina barely managed to cast Bronze Skin and Ki Reinforcement in tandem before she was sent flying back against the steel cage wall from a powerful kick from Feng.
"Defensive techniques? This fight might actually be interesting." Feng said before shifting into a ready stance while Mina stood back up to her feet while she grits her teeth and ignored the pain she felt. So, Mina rushed in and attacked with strikes of her own, but Feng countered each strike before making her stagger onto her back after he grabbed her head and pulled it down into his rising knee.
You have been inflicted with the [Dazed] status effect!
Mina's mind became blurry and unfocused as Feng completely tore through her defenses with his superior Ki control and precision.
Mina slowly got back up though and shook her head before getting back into a ready stance as she focused her Ki and dashed towards Feng with her fist pulled back before she thrusted her fist forward to punch him.
Feng caught the punch with one hand, but Mina countered by grabbing his wrist with her other hand and jumped to deliver a powerful kick to the side of Feng's head, which caught him off-guard a little bit.
Mina ignored the alert that appeared near her and focused on the fight as both Feng and herself rushed towards each other and exchanged blows. However, the fight was a bit one-sided as Feng's superior abilities made short work of Mina's defensive power.
Mina had to repeatedly recast Bronze Skin since Feng kept shattering the spell itself with his Ki enhanced strikes, but Mina wasn't staying down, which agitated the Mauy Thai fighter.
"You keep getting up and it's pissing me off." Feng said after wiping some blood off his busted lip.
"I'm very stubborn." Mina said back with a cocky smile before Feng focused and Mina saw his arms and legs suddenly become denser and slightly larger.
"I'm going to start taking this seriously." Feng said as his entire body seemed to start radiating power. "Tiger Rush!" Feng said as he had his own Ki technique that allowed him to close the distance between himself and Mina at blinding speeds before he unleased a combination of punches and kicks that were amplified to his body's physical limits.
Each blow felt like getting hit by a train and when the vicious combination of strikes ended, Mina was sent high into the air after Feng grabbed her shoulders and tossed her up. Feng then delivered his final blow and jumped high into the air with a raised uppercutting fist that hit Mina between the shoulder blades of her back, making her scream in pain before she fell onto the ground, while Feng landed on his feet.
"Feng! Feng! Feng! Feng!" The crowd cheered at the fighter who dropped to one knee from the strain he put on his body.
"Damn girl. Forcing me to use so much Ki and unleash my ultimate attack…Even so. She stood her ground as a warrior…I can respect that at least." Feng said before he forced himself up to his feet and stood tall before the crowd and Feng himself looked on in shock as Mina struggled to get back to her feet.
"I'm…Not done…Yet." Mina coughed out before she made it to her feet on unsteady legs.
"How did you endure that blow?" Feng asked before a realization came to him. "Oh…I get it. My combination has the fatal flaw of giving my enemy time in the air. I can give the finishing blow, but if I'm too slow, they'd have time to defend themselves with Ki centered in their back."
"I thought I was being clever, but you just figured it out so easily…Still I'm new to this Ki stuff, so I just hoped for the best with my level of control. It worked, but not nearly enough."
"You're a child, you'd still have room to grow if you hadn't entered this fight." Feng replied as Mina gave a genuine smile.
"That might be true, but if I don't enter fights like this, I won't grow as a warrior. Now let's end this. Your attack pushed your body to the brink, and I've taken a lot of damage and can hardly stand. This next blow will really show us who is the superior fighter." Mina said as the crowd was roaring as both fighters took on a final fighting stance.
"You're not wrong girl. Before we exchange one final blow, I will apologize. I thought you were a weak child, but now I see you as a warrior. So, take solace in the fact that I will end this quickly." Feng said before he focused all his remaining Ki into her dominant fist while Mina did the same.
"I'll remember that when I win." Mina replied before both fighters charged at each other with their final blows at the ready. Then when they collided, both fighter's fists connected with each other and created a powerful shockwave that sent both fighters back against the cage wall.
The blow hurt Mina's hand, wrist and arm while Feng suffered less damage, which allowed him to rise to his feet as the victor of the fight while Mina was knocked out cold when her defensive skills ran dry, and the force of the shockwave gave her a nasty blow to the back of the head from the cage wall.
"Feng wins!" Roi cheered as the older fighter stepped out of the cage before looking down at his now bruised and wounded hand, wrist and arm.
"That girl…I want to fight her again someday." Feng said before he left while Jones and Risp grabbed Mina and helped her get out of the fighting location and simply placed her on the bed of their hotel room.
1
You have fully recovered your HP, MP and Ki!
"Ow." Mina said as she sat up in the bed and touched her right arm and noticed that it still felt raw and was a tad bit red now. The amount of Ki she pumped into it, plus the blowback of the strike she countered had done a number on her and showed that even a full night's rest wasn't enough to fix what she had done.
You have the [Ki Blowback-Focused on Right Arm] Debuff!
"Damn that hurts, but that fight was so awesome." Mina said to herself with a smile on her face.
"You must have gotten a serious head injury if you think that fight was 'awesome'." Risp said as she entered the room with a first aid kit in her hands as she opened it and started looking Mina over for a moment. "How the hell did your arm get that messed up?"
"I can't really explain it. I guess I hit the guy harder than I thought I would." Mina said back causally since she couldn't exactly tell the officer that Ki existed and was real.
"You sure did. When I was your age, I could hardly do a few pushups, but you went toe to toe with an elite fighter, and now you're getting back up as if your ready to fight again." Risp said back while using a cloth rag soaked in alcohol to rub Mina's hurt arm in order to reduce the swelling.
"I've always been a tough girl. I can take a few hits and get up as good as new." Mina said with a laugh before wincing after Risp touched a sensitive spot on her arm.
"Try to say that after I'm done here kid." Risp replied as she continued going over Mina's arm before stopping and putting away the medical supplies.
Risp also explained that Jones was talking with Roi about what should be happening next. Mina lost the match but that didn't mean she was out of the fights yet.
"These fighters are the real deal…I can't explain it, but it makes me a bit happy."
"Fighting in an illegal slave ring makes you happy?" Risp asked with a raised eyebrow.
"No. Not that part of it at least. I just mean that fighting other martial artists is awesome. Whenever the next world tournament starts, I hope it can be fun too. I just enjoy the sport of combat is all." Mina explained as best she could since she didn't fully understand this feeling herself. Maybe she was just enjoying the competitive nature of combat, or maybe she enjoyed violence more than normal. Mina couldn't say, but what she could say was that martial arts had awoken a new feeling within her.
"If you make it to the tournament, I'll be rooting for you, but right now you need to focus on what you have going on." Risp said before Jones entered the room.
"I've got some news." Jones said in a serious tone before the trio moved out of the hotel with their supplies and equipment before making their way to a hidden van in a dark alley way, where Mina was set up with a wiretap.
The recording device wasn't placed on her chest under her clothes, instead the device is a black ring placed on her ring finger.
"It's just going to be me and you in their kid. This is the break we are looking for. We talk with the boss and start earing his trust. Then we take down his organization." Jones explained.
"I thought this would take a lot longer."
"Normally it would, but you seemed to have impressed the guy, so things have escalated fast. Now this isn't the end, we need a lot more information, but this is the best start we can hope for." Jones explained as Mina looked at the wired ring on her finger before she balled up her fist.
"I won't let you down."
"Good, now let me handle all the talking. Only speak if the boss speaks to you first. Now are you ready?" Jones asked before Mina nodded her head.
"I am." Mina replied before the duo left the van as the tech heads inside made sure the recording was working as Jones and Mina made their way through the city before stopping in front of what looked to be an office building full of workers in cubicles.
One of the security guards led Jones and Mina to the boss's room and that is when Mina saw the boss of the fighting ring himself. The same person who was in the crowd when Mina fought Feng.
Iroka, Level: 30
Underground Fighting Boss/High Ranking Officer of the Red Ribbon Army
"Greetings. I'm sure you already know who I am." Iroka said as Jones spoke up while Mina kept her face as blank as possible.
"We do sir. We wanted to thank you for this opportunity to talk with you. My girl here is a good fighter, and she won't lose again."
"I'm sure she won't. However, that isn't why I called you both here." Iroka said before he stood up from his seat behind the large wooden desk he owned. "I called you both here because this girl of yours has potential."
"What do you mean sir?" Jones asked as Iroka chuckled.
"It's simple. I want Snow to keep fighting and I want her to become the best fighter I have. Running a fighting ring of slaves and criminals has gotten boring to watch. The rich pay money on bets and the fighters wail on each other for a portion of money or the chance to earn their freedom, but recently I have decided to change things up a bit."
"What does that mean?" Jones asked with a bit of confusion and uneasiness.
"It means that the fights are going to become more intense. The fights are now going to be to the death, and unfortunately for you, I only need Snow to be involved." Iroka said before he blitzed Mina and Jones both.
He had jumped over the table and in a swift motion he had impaled Joens through the chest with a powerful punch and used his back leg to kick Mina against the wall of the office.
"Honestly, did you think I wouldn't know when cops are getting involved in my business?" Iroka asked in annoyance before he pulled his fist back as Jones fell limply onto the ground, dead before he even hit the ground since the punch went clear through his chest.
Mina quickly recovered from the attack she got hit by and saw what had happened. But before she could do anything, she was suddenly stabbed by something making her cry out in pain as she gripped her neck and pulled out a sharp dart. She looked at the doorway and saw an RRA officer with a dart gun in hand before Mina suddenly lost control of her body and fell to the ground while slowly losing consciousness.
"Take her to the gulag. She'll be one of the first to fight." Iroka said to the guard as Mina blacked out on the ground.
2
Mina woke up with a groan and saw that she wasn't in the office room anymore and instead she was locked up in a large steel cell with several other people in what looked to be an underground warehouse. Mina also saw that there were other cages with people within them and several RRA officers patrolling the floor they were on.
"Where the hell am I?" Mina asked with confusion and a bit of fear.
"You're in the gulag." A person said to her as she turned around and saw the other 'fighters' in the cell with her. However, these fighters were more like slaves due to how beaten down they seemed. "This is the place where the slaves stay."
"And I'm guessing that there's no way out of this place." Mina said back to the man who shook his head.
"Many have tried, and none had survived. The soldiers mow down anyone who sneaks out of their cells without the permission of a fight manager or fighter looking for a punching bag."
"Damn." Mina cursed before she remembered her quest and how she might have just failed one or two of the objectives. However, that was the least of her concerns, what truly concerned her was the fact that she and dozens of other people are currently trapped in an unknown location and could be killed at any moment.
Mina looked at the people with a critical eye and saw it wasn't just people of decent age. There are children and elderly people here as well. Even those with broken bones and injuries weren't spared as she saw a few guards taunting the wounded and defenseless.
"This can't go on." Mina said with anger.
"It's no use fighting. Were doomed." The man told her.
"No, you're not. I'm going to find a way to get everyone out of this hellhole." Mina said back as the other slaves didn't believe her words and had already sunk into despair.
So, Mina looked herself over and saw that she was still dressed in her combat outfit which was good. However, her recording ring had been taken away. But that was the least of her concerns as she mentally summoned her Gamer Store and started scrolling through it while ignoring the confused stares of a few people who thought she was playing with the air or something.
"There has to be something here." Mina said to herself as she was looking for something that could aid her in freeing herself and the other slaves from this place and sure enough, she found just the thing she needed along with a new spell as well.
1x Gunpowder Nullification Area Device
1x Kinetic Absorption Field skill book
[Kinetic Absorption Field, Active Level: 1
You can magically generate a protective ward around your self or in front of you that absorbs kinetic energy to reduce the impact and damage of the attacks that hit this ward, which can nullify the attack if the attack doesn't surpass your INT, WIS and the level of this skill.
Cost: 130 MP with an 80 MP upkeep cost per minute!]
The skill costs a lot of mana, meaning that it would be a last resort move, however the device didn't have a drawback other than the fact that after it is used, it will break apart.
The device itself covers a 360-degree area of 2000 Feet. And it converts all gunpowder into sludge which makes guns useless within this range. The object itself looked to be a bronze sphere with a single button on it above a bar shaped timer that was set for thirty minutes.
"All of you just sit tight. I will get all of you out of here." Mina said before she pressed the button on the device and saw the timer activate as well as seeing the device release a yellowish energy wave that washed over everything within its area of effect. The wave wasn't concussive in nature and didn't even hurt, it was more like a light breeze washing over everything it touched, but that didn't matter right now. What matters is that the RRA soldiers were all extremely confused about what just happened.
Mina took advantage of that and focused her Ki and delivered a Power Strike attack to the lock on the cage cell, which thankfully broke, opening the door and shocking everyone except for Mina.
The soldiers aimed their guns at her and fired but were shocked beyond belief at the fact that their guns weren't working. So, Mina reached into her inventory and took out her Frost Pain sword and started attacking the soldiers with her ice sword.
Mina didn't outright kill anyone though, and focused on incapacitating the soldiers as best she could. She used the special ability of her sword known as Icy Burst to freeze the soldiers where they stood as ice covered their bodies like a prison.
Using the swords' ability cost some MP but it was worth it in Mina's eyes as she confiscated all their guns, weapons and radios before breaking the locks on the other cells and freed all the other slaves.
"Everyone follow me! I'll lead you out of this place!" Mina shouted to everyone who had been shocked and elated to be so close to freedom.
Now the location they were in was a secure location out of West City and near the wilderness. The entire complex was surrounded by a metal electric fence and other soldiers. But with the slaves being given batons from the incapacitated soldiers, the RRA soldiers stood no chance.
Mina eventually found the power switch to shut off the gates power, which let the gates open as the slaves stole vehicles and drove out of the complex while Mina simply ran as she pumped Ki and Mana into her legs.
She freed the slaves, but she had unfinished business with the fighting boss, and she also needed to tell the cops about what happened to Jones. In the process Mina ignored the skill alerts she had seen today and kept running until her reserves ran dry as she came up to the secure police location in the form of a safehouse.
"This place was supposed to be safe." Mina said as she walked in and saw several dead policemen and women who had been in on the operation.
"Kid?" A weak voice said as Mina walked towards one of the officers on the ground who had blood coming out of his mouth along with having two bullet holes in his chest.
"Don't talk, I need to get you to a hospital." Mina said to the officer and was about to pick him up until he spoke again.
"You can't do that kid. I've already lost too much blood. But you need to know that the city ain't safe. Risp double crossed us and joined Iroka. She had helped him give us false information."
"What?" Mina asked with wise eyes as the man coughed into his hand for a moment and saw that he had coughed up a bit more blood.
"You heard me. You need to go to the precinct and try to get FIB involved in this op. Risp gone cold but your still involved as far as our superiors are concerned." The man said weakly before he placed a hand on Mina's shoulder. "Take down the bastard and Risp."
Mina grabbed the man's hand as his eyes went dark and his head fell to the side, showing that he had just died. Mina fought the tears before Gamers Mind activated and muted the negative emotions.
"This got so crazy so fast. But I have to make sure that Iroka gets taken down for what he's done." Mina said as she took a few deep breaths and tried fighting off the exhaustion she felt before she moved out of the building and made her way to the police station where she spoke with the chief and explained everything to him.
After that Mina was put in a squad car and placed into protective custody and was being escorted out of the city, much to her protest, but she wasn't able to fight anyone on it.
This entire ordeal had been tiring even with the level ups she had been given from the complex of RRA grunts she defeated. Her body was sore and mentally she was tired, but at the moment she could at least take a breath and relax in a car seat.
Mina paid little attention to the two policemen in the driver and passenger seat as she summoned up her stats to look over what she could change.
[Status Screen
Name: Mina Cam, Age: 17, Race: Human
Title: Gamer, Karma: Neutral, Level: 15 [630/18,930]
HP: 1,820/2,300, Ki: 0/1,050, MP: 0/360(0.5 Regen per hour)
Strength: 28, Vitality: 31, Constitution: 29
Dexterity: 27, Intelligence: 25, Wisdom: 22
Charisma: 23, Luck: 35
BP: 1.1
Status: [Ki Exhaustion] [Mana Exhaustion]
Stat Points: 30, Perk Points: 6]
Mina looked on at the screen and had to acknowledge that she got off fairly lucky all things considered. But this also served as another reminder of her strength, so she thought about things carefully before she decided to allocate her stat and perk points.
[Status Screen
Name: Mina Cam, Age: 17, Race: Human
Title: Gamer, Karma: Neutral, Level: 15 [630/18,930]
HP: 1,820/2,300, Ki: 0/1,050, MP: 0/360(0.5 Regen per hour)
Strength: 34, Vitality: 31, Constitution: 29
Dexterity: 37, Intelligence: 25, Wisdom: 36
Charisma: 23, Luck: 35
BP: 1.1
Status: [Ki Exhaustion] [Mana Exhaustion]
Stat Points: 0, Perk Points: 3]
[The Perk 'Toughness' has ranked up from Rank 2-3-MAX]
3 Perk Points remaining!
[Root Chakra Unlocked
Rank: MAX
The Root Chakra is associated with instinct, survivability, security and the potential for greater development. By unlocking the first chakra you have opened yourself to the influx of elemental energy that can be used in the form of your birth element.
Element: Fire
Grants you the skill [Lesser Pyromancy Manipulation]]
2 Perk Points remaining!
[Supergirl
Rank: 1
You have energy comparable to a superhero…In theory anyway. You gain a 25% increase to all energy regeneration]
[The Perk 'Supergirl' has ranked up from Rank 1-2]
0 Perk Points remaining!
Mina looked over the available perks and was interested in developing her Ki abilities through the Chakra perk line. The perk line required the prerequisite Chakra wheels to be unlocked, meaning she couldn't jump straight to the most powerful and ignore the others. The new energy within her felt as if a warm flame was resting within her pelvis and that energy had slowly spread throughout her entire body.
Mina didn't say a word and simply looked out the window at the city that she was being taken out of. Her quest wasn't finished, and she felt like she failed, but what else could she have done?
Mina stopped looking out the window and looked out the front windshield and was suddenly scared for her life as she saw something hit the police car with a burst of flame and suddenly the car flipped over.
END!
A/N: Originally, I was going to have a underground fighting ARC for this story, but then I realized that it wouldn't really fit the tone for what I am going for in this story.
The story of a martial artist developing into a true hero for the world and proving that humans can always have a place as a Z-fighter among the aliens and cyborgs/androids.
Now I know you are all thinking that I am making her too OP too quickly, but I'm really not. The Root Chakra is unlocked at level 15, but the other Chakra's are not going to be available to her for a long while.
The fun is in the journey not the destination. Anyway, I don't want to spoil too much of the story, so I'll end things here.
Remember to fav, follow and review because it helps motivate me.