Morale 28: Masters Style
"Time to wake up, Pops." Fonhare mumbled in a groggy voice.
With a yawn, Flores rose from bed with a stretch. Despite the utter annihilation he faced yesterday, he was prepared to go at it once again. That was until he noticed a shadow hanging over him.
"He's awake; get him!"
Looking up, a kid fell from the ceiling and punched him right in the right.
Clang!
"Huh?" The kid stared at Flores with dismay. He attempted to run, but Fonhare transformed and picked him up by the collar.
"You got a lot of nerve, kid." Fonhare grumbled.
"You may have captured me! But the rest shall prevail!"
"Rest?" Flores looked around the room, noticing the number of occupants had increased. And it was growing by the second. People came through the door, out of his wardrobe, and even from under his bed, all of them itching for a fight.
"Let me guess. Rinoth tradition."
"Indeed. All your duel requests have been processed, meaning we're allowed to strike. Ambush, face to face, it doesn't matter." The kid answered.
Fucking Rinoth. Flores swore as his eyes shifted around the room.
"I see. Second question, are partners allowed?"
"As the Morale hero, you're stronger than us. Thus you're not allowed to have a combat buddy." A man answered. He waded his way through to the front, wearing a referee uniform with a whistle.
"Fair enough. Put him down, Fonhare."
As commanded, Fonhare put the kid down. But before he could return to the rest, Flores grabbed him by the head.
"Last question. What are the boundaries of this duel?"
"All across Rinoth."
"Same rules of combat as the slime?" Flores asked.
"Correct." The ref answered.
"Noted."
"AHHHH!"
Crash!
Stepping with all his might, Flores tossed the kid out the window and leapt out window after him.
"He's escaping! Get him!" The crowd scrambled, some going through the window while the others went down the stairs.
Once everyone left, only two people were left in the room. Fonhare and another bunny eared seele.
"Uh hi. Big fan. Your fights against the slave captains of Longinus were awesome."
"Um… thanks." Fonhare blushed.
/~/
Flores ran for his life, five people closing in, with forty others falling behind.
Turning around, Flores came to a stop and used one of the roof tiles to intercept an arrow. He then threw the tile at the archer, hitting him in the head and knocking him out.
These guys are low-level. I need to be careful.
Flores muttered some words under his breath as the other four trainees approached. He noticed their belts and remembered what Lizen told him before. Your rank in Rinoth is determined by your belt, similar to that of karate. Though the belts and meaning were completely flipped.
Black belts are known as initiates. Their skills are unhoned, and their lifeforce dormant. Once they learn how to draw out their ki and become proficient in a fight style of their choosing, they will rank up.
The next are the ascendants, also known as the red belts. Red belts are for those who are learning to utilize their ki properly. The red stands for an awakened but untamed lifeforce. Once they learn how to utilize their ki often and efficiently, they rank up.
The next belt was where he was at. Technically, he's not a student, but if he were, he would have a blue belt, also known as a master. Blue belts are for those who desire to push their abilities to the extreme and learn a ki style.
One can learn from one of the already discovered ki styles, or deviate from the path and attempt to develop one themselves. Though that does, however, tend to never be seen again.
And finally, the white belt for the strongest around. The grandmaster.
With that in mind, Flores looked at the belts of the people rushing at him. All of them ascendants, not much of a threat.
He grabbed another tile and tossed it at the group. They all dodged, but they stopped and ran for behind a chime as Flores threw more No matter how many he threw, the tiles would replace themselves seconds later, becoming an infinite supply of ammo… for a short while. After a bit, the tiles didn't replace themselves, and Flores lost the ranged pressure on the group. But he still had the positional advantage.
Dashing over to the chime, Flores got the jump on one of the poor souls who dared to peek their head out and slammed him through the roof. He then swung his flag and hit another through the chime they were hiding behind.
The other two attacked, but they were uncoordinated. All it took was a simple dodge to the side for both to hit each other, allowing Flores to move in to finish up the job. A simple punch to the gut being enough to disqualify them both.
Now for the re-
"Attack now!"
Nevermind!
Flores ran away as the hoard of fighters threw every ranged technique they had at him. After noticing how exposed the rooftops were, he leapt off the building, using glide at the last second to slow his descent.
Annoyingly enough, Rinoth buildings were very tall, with many of the residence facilities on the top floor to encourage people to use the stairs. Fortunately for him, however, this slowed down his pursuers as they slowly made their way down. That was except for two insane trainees, who decided to leap off the six-story building.
They were blue belts, both being seele, bundrills to be exact. He thought he knew everything Fonhare could do. So he was surprised when both rabbits landed on the ground and rushed him, completely unharmed from the fall
"[Lifeweave: Integrity Slash!]"
"[Augmentation: Double Sidewinding Spinkick]"
One of the rabbits wielded a knife and raised it into the air, it's blade expanding into a massive translucent blade. Swinging it down, Flores leapt to the side, dodging the attack. He then flipped over another slash, though he stumbled when he landed.
That was when the second bundrill came in, hoping to exploit his bad landing. He spun in the air, his leg glowing green as he unleashed a corkscrew kick. But Flores recovered faster than expected and successfully guarded against the attack with his arm.
The kicker didn't quit, however. Backflipping off Flores's own arm, he landed on the ground and rushed back at him with his other foot, kicking him in the stomach. Flores was hurt by the attack, but he didn't budge. Grabbing the kicker by the leg, he tossed him with all his might straight into the other bunny.
"Star Holy…" Flores raised his hand in the air, bit, but stopped himself. Instead, he ran forward and leapt into the air.
Right. If I'm going to use magic, it must be in a combo.
"[Star Holy Crash!]"
Similar to his teleport spell, Flores turned into a ball of light and crashed into the two bunnies, scorching them in a radiant light. He made sure to use a near rhyme to lessen the power, but it was more than enough to defeat the two.
"[Prismatic Draw!]" Stepping with one foot, Flores swung his flag, sending an arc of rainbow light at the hoard.
Many avoided the attack, clinging onto the buildings around them to avoid the wave. Others were too late and were hit by the skill, tapping out afterward. There was only one in the group who didn't decide to dodge.
Most initiates and some ascendants believed taking on a skill from a hero to be a death wish. But to masters, they were a challenge. And the master stepping up to the plate seemed unphased by the attack. With a simple wave of his arm, he deflected the skill into the air and laughed as he stepped forward.
"Everyone stay back. It's my turn."
The man cracked his knuckles as he approached. He had blond hair with a red and black GI. He was a blue belt with no weapon, only a pair of leather fingerless gloves covering his bandaged knuckles.
"Miguel's Successor. If I beat you here, I'll finally get the right to challenge the grandmaster." The man smirked.
"What?"
"Rinoth law. The strongest is the grand master, and the only way to challenge him to a duel is to get challenged by the GM himself or defeat a powerful opponent. Tome got his claim to fame when he defeated a fragment of the arcane dragon, stealing my rightful spot as the grandmaster.
But now that you're here, I'm ready to take it back and cement myself as the greatest fighter in Rinoth! No. The strongest man in the world!"
Flores sighed in annoyance as the master laughed maniacally. Actually, maniacal was a compliment. If Flores were to describe it, it was comical. That made Flores lose all respect he originally had for him.
"Ken wants to fight the morale hero? Alone?"
"He just beat two masters effortlessly; no way he's winning."
"Ken! I can help you. Just ask and you'll—"
"SHUT UP! I'LL SHOW ALL OF YOU!" Ken yelled at the crowd.
They all seemed tired of him already, so it didn't take long for all of them to ignore his demand and continue nagging about his downfall.
"So. Ken, was it?"
"It's not Ken." Ken scoffed. "It's Masters!"
"Alright, Ken Masters... Ken Masters..." Flores scratched his chin, trying to remember where he heard that name from. "Nope, doesn't ring a bell."
Doing his usual shtick of trolling. Flores couldn't help but notice Ken breathe a sigh of relief. Not knowing why, however, Flores shrugged it off and got ready for battle.
"Alright, let's do this. Draw your weapon."
"They're drawn."
Great. Another unarmed fighter. Flores grumbled.
"Then what are you waiting for, Ken? Get a move on."
"It's Masters!" Ken leapt forward at blinding speeds and swung at Flores. He didn't expect him to be that fast, so he was caught off guard and was knocked into a nearby house. Getting up, Flores caught Ken's fist and kicked him out of the room. He then tossed a few coins over to the owner before rushing out himself. Though he swore to himself once he saw the wall repair itself as quickly as he left.
"That's a few coins I'm not getting back."
"Pay attention!" Yelled Ken. He came down from the air, but Flores quickly swapped his flag and blocked the kick.
The Geese brawler flag was different from the others, being a bo-staff as opposed to a spear. The increase to blunt damage was also a plus, allowing his strike to be both non-lethal yet devastating. Ken was the first to feel this power as Flores jabbed the staff into his gut, followed by a hit to the chin that knocked him into the air.
He prepared himself to attack once he recovered himself, but Flores wasn't done. Grabbing Masters by the leg, Flores slammed him into the ground before tossing him into a cart of cabbages. Though all the cabbages were caught by the merchant before they hit the ground.
Even the merchants here are insane. "Sorry!"
"It's nothing!" The merchant nodded before conjuring a cart of wind to carry the remaining food.
Meanwhile, in the original cart, Ken got back up, holding his left arm in a familiar fashion.
"That's it. You're dead!"
"I'm pretty sure I'm not. I mean… I would know if I was."
"Stop mocking me!" Ken yelled.
As he continued screaming, he suddenly burst into flames, or so Flores thought. It wasn't flames that engulfed him, but instead, his ki overflowed, bursting out of his body and into a white aura. Normally, most people wouldn't be able to see the use of Ki; even Flores himself was barely able to recognize it unless a technique was used. But Ken's was so potent that not only could he see it. But the aura could knock out everyone around who couldn't handle its power.
No wonder I got those vibes. I just encountered this world's version of Vegeta. Hopefully he doesn't.
"[Masters Style: Ki Barrage!]"
NEVERMIND HE DOES!
Not wasting any time, Flores pushed Ki into his feet and leapt onto a nearby roof. And good thing that he did. Masters began tossing yellow balls of energy at him, reminiscent of one of his favorite shows. Much like the show, however, it wasn't very effective as Flores hid behind the building.
Leaping off once the blast stopped, Flores came down from above and swung his staff. A guaranteed hit on Master's head. But instead of hitting him, Masters dodged at blinding speeds. Appearing behind him, Masters threw a punch, but Flores ducked, narrowly dodging the fist. He then rose up and grabbed Masters arm, pulling him over his back and slamming him into the ground. Though Masters himself roled, countering Flores's slam and kicking Flores away.
Okay, he's stronger and faster now. This will be a slight pain in the-
"[Table Flip!]"
"Damn it. I can't even think!?" Flores looked over to Masters and watched as he cracked the ground and ripped out a massive rock.
Flores stood his ground as Masters threw it, not willing to show any weakness. Reeling his arm back, he thrust his flag forward, using Drill Run to pierce through the stone. But coming from Masters appeared from behind and grabbed onto Flores's flag, using his strength to hold it in place.
He then stepped forward and kicked Flores in the stomach. Flores gasped for air, unprepared for the level of strength, but he was given no time to recover. Exploiting the fact Flores couldn't drop his weapon, Masters continued his onslaught of attacks, ending it with a kick that launched Flores out of the alleyway and out into the marketplace of Rinoth.
"Coming through!" Flores shouted. He did his best to stop himself, but he still crashed into two food stands. Though, just like before, the owners just rebuilt them with their magic and went along with their day like nothing happened.
"What's wrong, hero? Can't handle my power?" Masters boasted.
"Hya!"
Clang
Flores thrust his flag forward. But to his surprise, the attack did nothing.
"How cute."
Grabbing Flores by the neck, Masters lifted him up and slammed him face first into the ground. He then leapt back, his aura flaring up brighter than ever.
"THANK YOU, SUCCESSOR, FOR ALLOWING ME THIS WIN. LET THIS BE MY FINAL TECHNIQUE TO SIGNIFY MY ASCENSION!"
Masters stepped back before running forward, the wind around him twisting around his fist.
"[MASTERS STYLE: RUINATION!]"
Masters swung his fist, releasing a massive blast of wind pressure that threaded through the ground and carts before him.
What the hell, man? How do I even dodge this!?
Flores looked around for an escape, but he noticed the people around him. It was too big to avoid, at least on such short notice. Many of them braced themselves, hoping to lessen the damage taken, but Flores wasn't planning on letting that happen.
"[Defense Order!]" Flores shouted.
The seal of the Morale hero appeared below him as he stepped in front of the crowd. Was he doing something stupid? Maybe. Was it even going to work? He didn't know. All he knew was that he had people to defend and that no one else would die under his watch.
Acting as a wall, Flores stood his ground. Swapping to his strongest flag, Flores took the hit and held the wind in place. He was losing ground fast, and the pain he was under was unbearable. But kept the attack in place, long enough for everyone to escape.
"Galaxy!" Flores shouted. The rest of his spell, however, wasn't heard, as he was carried off by the wind and into a nearby building that crumbled under the pressure.
"HAHAHA! SEE IT HERE FIRST, EVERYONE! I JUST BEAT THE SUCCESSOR OF MIGUEL!"
"Beat? He took a hit to protect people, and you call that victory!"
"He did it on purpose. He had too!"
"BOOO!"
The crowd of warriors booed Masters, making the man intimidated almost immediately.
"SHUT UP! YOU'RE ALL JUST JEALOUS. I'M THE VICTOR HERE; DOESN'T MATTER HOW!"
"WHO THE HELL SAID YOU WON!" Walking out of the fog, Flores hung his flag on the back of his shoulders, striding forward despite his injuries. "Last time I checked. It was five seconds on the ground for a loss. I only counted two." Flores smirked.
"B-but how! That was a direct hit; no way you survived!"
"You really underestimate how much damage I could take before going down. Granted, I also underestimated you. It's about time I start showing you what I'm truly capable of. [Galaxy Null]"
A purple aura washed over Flores, making her feel lighter and stronger. Everyone watching dared not to look away. The battle they were invested in was reaching it's conclusion, only to find out their target had been holding back this entire time. Truly a time to be alive.
"You. You debuffed yourself!?"
"Yes. Unlike some people, I'd like to not accidentally kill someone." Flores starred at Masters, a disgusted look starting to form on his face. He couldn't put his finger on it, but whatever he was rubbed him the wrong way. Not that it mattered at the moment. Bad feeling or not, Flores was ready to knock the shit out of him for what he just pulled. Nothing was off the table now.
"Don't think a little spell is able to-"
"[Beginners Flourish]" Switching back to his goose staff, Flores sped forward and hit Masters in the gut, knocking him away. "[Advanced Flourish!]" Wasting no time, Flores leapt to Masters position and swung his flag once more, smashing Masters over the head.
When he laded, he prepared to strike again, but Master recovered faster than he expected and threw a punch at his face. Flores went to block the hit and was successful, but he felt as the punch went through anyway, a spike of shocking his torso.
"Agh." Flores yelped.
Damn. His punches are so strong that even blocking them means nothing.
Flores dodged the second punch but was caught by the third. The punch itself wasn't as painful; it felt rather light, actually. What came from it however tore Flores apart from the inside. While he was in pain, Masters swung once again, his fist drilling through the air.
"[Masters Style: Rupture Fist.]"
Striking Flores on his chest, he felt the wind be knocked out of him as another surge of energy ravaged through his chest. This one, however, traveled through his entire body before expelling itself.
Agh. Nope, that's just his punches. Flores grumbled. He was about to fall to his knees, but he caught himself, defiantly standing firm.
"Just stay down already!"
"[Bastion Dash.]" Instead of trying to block, Flores dodged the attack and grabbed Masters's fist. He then sped forward, slamming Masters face through and across a brick wall.
He then activated [Strength Order] and tossed Masters across the marketplace. He then flew after him in a golden light and reappeared, slapping Masters back into the ground. "[Lightning Flourish!]"
Not stopping his assault, Flores fell from the sky, his flag cackling with a purple lightning. As Masters finally recovered and got up from the crater he was in. He only had a moment too look up before being smacked right back down by a falling thunderbolt.
"Light of the sky, hear my cry. Descend from above and smite this guy. [Planet Smite!]"
Bringing down his hand, Flores lept back as a light fell from the heavens and crashed into Masters, further drilling him into the ground.
But Masters wasn't having it. He wanted to win; he was going to win. With a newfound determination, Masters aura flared up, and he deflected the beam back into the air. Stepping out the crater, he rushed at Flores, unleashing a flurry of blows, many of which missed. But the ones that did hurt the hero significantly, leaving him open to a kick to the head.
"[C-cheer.]"
The attack had the same effect as earlier, rattling his head to the core.
Flores fell back, losing consciousness fast. But he caught himself, quickly swapping to his pom-pom and spinning into a flamboyant pose.
"What!?"
"Just enough for now. [Beginners Flourish!]"
Flores swung his fist, the pom-poms smashing into Masters face.
"Why you!"
"[Star Teleport!]" Masters retaliated with a punch of his own, but Flores disappeared in a ball of light.
"[Advanced Flourish!]" Reappearing behind Masters, Flores threw another punch, striking Masters in the head once again.
"Second verse, continue the first!"
Flores disappeared again and again, bouncing around Ken and delivering blow after blow. Masters had no way to counter. More accurately, he failed to adapt to Flores strategy.
Flores wouldn't consider himself a fighter, though that'll be far from the truth. Ever since middle school, he had a sore. Said attitude and disrespect for others got him into constant fights until sophomore year, where he finally started to mellow down and vent his anger out with sports and mandatory therapy. Add that with the training he got from Lizen and spars from Shun and Jay, his ability was improved. At least to the level of the average initiate.
With all that in mind, Flores began to see how much of a fraud he really was. His ki was very potent, and his techniques impressive, sure, but he was carried by it. His punches were sloppy, his footwork was shoddy, and his usage of said impressive techniques was subpar at best.
Of course, to an unskilled eye, he was vastly superior to most; Flores believed levels had a hand in that as well. But to someone like him, he had no issue dealing with these mistakes now that his debuffs were done.
"I'm ending this now! [Binding Melody!]"
Flores swapped to his violin and strummed a pretty bad melody. His instrumental skills were still bad, but it was enough to shoot out a wire and bind Masters arms to his side.
"[Attack Order!]"
Flores took a stance as his technique deployed. Sliding his foot back, he pushed off and began sprinting towards Masters.
"[Blazing Flourish!]"
Flores spun his arm cartoonishly. Usually this would be a horrible way to throw a punch, but his pom-poms burst into flames, sort of mitigating the downsides.
"Don't think you can hold me. HYA!"
Masters flared up his aura once again, breaking through the bindings with no issue.
"[Tranqual Waters]"
Extending his left hand, a blue ball of energy expanded and completely engulfed his hands. He threw it, hoping to end the fight, but Flores side stepped it easily.
"[Beginners Flourish!]" Flores pushed off, returning to a sprint while throwing a phony swing, keeping his Blazing Flourish active while cycling through Beginnings Flourish.
"[Raging Sun!"] Masters raised his right hand this time and rapid-fired minuturered balls of red energy. There was nowhere to go; surely this was his win, right? Well he was wrong.
Flores approached, coating his arm with ki and calling down an [Erst Banner] to activate a defense order. With both down, he ran through the attack, deflecting everything in his path.
"JUST DIE ALREADY! [RAGING SUN! TRANQUAL WATERS!]"
Masters raised both hands once more. But instead of throwing them, he brought them together, forming both into a purple ball.
"KEN! THIS IS GETTING OUT OF HAND!" An initiate yelled.
"I DON'T CARE. PREPARE TO FACE OBLIVION!"
"Bring it on!" Flores yelled back.
"MASTERS STYLE: TANDEM DEVASTATION!"
Masters slammed his fist into the ground, unleashing a purple beam that tore through the city.
"Successor. You have to dodge!" An ascendant yelled. But Flores didn't listen. He didn't try to dodge; he only stood his ground, continuing to run with a smirk on his face.
"There's nothing to say, masters. Aside from gg, that is."
Lifeforce flowed into Flores legs as he leapt into the air and over Masters beam at the last second.
"Not even close. [Advanced-]"
"[First Cycle: New Moon.]"
Flores threw his punch, ready to hit masters with all his might. Before he could strike, however, Silas appeared in between the two and took the hit for Masters with a moonlike barrier.
His attack wasn't completely stopped. In fact, he broke through the barrier after some struggle. Though it's initial power was heavily weakened, allowing Silas natural defenses to tank it instead.
"Alright, you two, I think that's enough." Silas sighed.
"The grandmaster is here."
"Is he here to challenge the Morale hero as well?"
"That is not the case." Silas replied, silencing the crowd.
"As of now, all the duel requests for the Morale hero have been canceled." Silas announced.
"Aww." The crowd collectively groaned.
"If you wish to fight him, you must ask him directly now, and only in specific areas. There, we can better regulate the match. He is our guest after all."
"Yeah, that's fair."
"I wasn't going to get far anyway."
"The fight was fun, though. The successors stats must be off the charts."
Under the orders of the grandmaster, the crowd dispersed, carrying their defeated allies with them. Masters wasn't amused by the cancellation and threw a punch at Flores while his guard was down. But Silas intercepted the punch and extended his lifeforce over Ken.
"I said the match is over." Silas ordered. His ki wasn't as potent as Ken's. But it was calmer and suffocating. Flores had trouble breathing in his presence, and Ken looked no different, his body struggling to keep itself standing.
"Fine." Ken grumbled, tossing Silas's hand aside. "We'll continue this fight later, successor. Mark my words!" Ken yelled as he slowly limped away.
"Although I'll usually be angry if my fight is interrupted. I can't help but feel relieved that you stepped in." Flores breathed a sigh of relief before falling back first to the ground. "Who was that guy anyway?"
"Ken Masters. Ironically, an ascendant in our ranks. Despite that, he is one of three of the grand master candidates. And the only one who's closed enough to actually grasp it." Silas answered with a sigh.
"A candidate to becoming the next grandmaster? I've only known him for ten minutes, and even I realized how demented he is."
"Like it or not, it's just the way Rinoth rolls. The best I can do is keep him from the position for as long as possible. Alas, no one has the drive to reach said goal." Silas handed Flores a glass of milk, a glass Flores snatched right out of his hands.
"I see. Guess I'll put his place next time we meet."
"Aww. You'd do that for me?"
"Fuck no." Flores shuddered. "I don't know what or why. There's just something off about him. If that fight didn't end there. I probably would have killed him." Flores took a sip of his milk, his injuries healing in a flash. "I wonder what my instincts are trying to tell me."
/~/
Journal Entry
Guardian Beast Part 3
Soul Peryton
The Soul Peryton is the third and most well-known beast among the populous of Arcadia. It was the one that trampled the world after all. Riala was the replica made from this beast, and as the name suggests, it has the power to interact with souls.
This beast is unique, as it doesn't have any familiars to call it's own. Instead, it uses the souls of the victims it killed, allowing it to animate thousands of creatures if left unchecked. It can also sense the souls of it's enemies, making invisibility and most clone-based illusions worthless. Other abilities that are known are it's blade like feathers, consumption of souls, and shadow manipulation.