《ATLA, In A Darker World》 Chapter 1 Death ...... And Life There was a popular saying in movies, Tv shows and novels. It could start in a variety of ways. Nonetheless, it usually ended with the following¡­. ¡°Build something greater on the ashes¡±. And from what I could remember, it was a phrase that was mostly associated to madmen with a knack for world destruction and domination. People like Hitler, Thanos, Zod, Luthor, Ultron, Ozai...... The last one quite literally took that concept to near literal fruition. Almost burning everything he didn''t approve of on his world to ash. The concept in their minds were to destroy everything, and rebuild on what remained. Or what managed to survive their catastrophe, into their image. 99% of the time, they never succeeded. Amd the remaining 1% usually had their work undone. But still. I wasn''t a particularly ambitious person per se. At least, I would like to think so. Perhaps it was because of the environment I was brought up in, or the fact that years of grueling hard work and effort never led me to amount to much in life. Another famous saying. Success consisted of 99% hard work and 1% Talent. The first saying could only be considered a statement which I had little knowledge on. This one, however, was something I experienced myself. So I can confidently say that the latter was more or less a large load of BS. After all, all those years of slaving my ass off didn''t yield any valuable results. I watched as the status between me and the truly successful in life remained the same way I initially saw it. As large as a dimensional chasm. It couldn''t be helped. My talent in school wasn''t enough to stimulate a qualitative change. Compared to those who were born rich, wealthy and had valuable connections, I had no advantage, no edge. Basically, lost at the starting line. Which led me to think of yet another famous saying. Work smarter, not harder. This phrase might sound pleasant and easy to do, but it would face practical problems when placed in reality. Working smarter would many times entail scheming, cunning and plotting against others. As well as pushing you to do things that would usually violate your moral conscience. As well as your dignity and self-esteem. Especially when a former classmate asks you to kneel to him so he can recommend you to a job position. After working hard yet finding nothing and having such an opportunity presented before you, would it be smart to take it? Perhaps. But would your pride allow such? Mine certainly didn''t. Not everyone faces similar situations, but you get the idea. Perhaps I should have adhered more to that motto during my lifetime. Unfortunately, it was too late by the time I realized it. After years of hard effort, the only thing I received was a slice of reality. So yeah ..... I wouldn''t define myself as ambitious. Not anymore. A normal person would let themselves go, immerse themselves in their imaginations, and use fantasies to distract themselves from their failures. I was the same. Writing novels and fanfictions to take my mind away. But I was more realistic. The whole rebirth shebang was never something I took for an actual possibility, hence never truly interested me. Until I was involved in it. I never thought about what followed. I mean, I''d hoped to get another chance to relive my life. Perhaps ninety percent of the population would share my sentiment. So sure, it was an unexpected surprise. But I always thought even if it happened by some miracle, it would be in my world. Or ....... At least in the same universe. So see, my situation was rather complicated. As it turns out, the afterlife did exist. Heaven and hell ...... Believe it or not. At that moment, the image of a red skinned cunt with horns, a tail and an ugly pitchfork stabbing me through the ass with a nasty grin on his face appeared in my mind. I shook with a slight tremble. But apparently, that wasn''t where I''d be going. Currently, I am in an empty white space. There were no angels, demons, or humans. Heck, I didn''t even know if the former two existed. What was before me, however, was a list of floating words that I could only assume to be my possible options. Options I was more or less familiar with. [Fear The Walking Dead] [Ikaris/ Death Metal] [Son Of Ares] [A New Man Of Steel] [An Immortal In Naruto] If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. [I''m Energy In DC] [In A Darker World] Like earlier stated, I was a fanfiction author. And these, were the titles of the novels I wrote. My side profession allowed me to instantly understand what I was supposed to do, and my heart sank immediately. Shit! I should have written better novels. ¡­. Another famous saying. A time traveler''s greatest cheating tool, is plot knowledge. Knowing the world you were in, or on your way to was practically a short to middle term semi omniscience. For fanfiction authors, it was usually the first Mc perk. For me, however, I was starting to wish I had just gone on to the afterlife. As while, I prided myself in providing quality fics ...... At least good enough to attract a major audience, I would be damned if I had to live in one of the works I wrote. Most of them were dark death world''s with edgy, murderous characters, some being the Mc''s themselves. The chances of my new life ending the same day it began was as high as 90% 1: Fear The Walking dead. A zombie fanfic from The Walking Dead series. Unlike the Mc''s in most novels. I was no survival expert and was quite sure I''d die on the first day. 2: Ikaris/ Death Metal. A crossover between Marvel and DC. With the eternals character Ikaris appearing in the DC Dark Multiverse. Earth -22, the home of the Laughing bat. Compared to the Walking Dead, I wasn''t sure which was worse. 3: Son Of Ares. Literally no explanation needed. The disasters in this one were almost equal to the daily happenings of Gotham city. 4: A New Man Of Steel. Speaks for itself. The rebirth of a morally gray Superman in the Man Of Steel Movie. I didn''t know the timeframe I would be dropped in. And certainly wasn''t going to risk the chance of Landing in metropolis during the battle with Zod. 5: An Immortal In Naruto. It''s Naruto. Do I need to say more? 6: I''m Energy In DC. The others could still be given a try. This one? Absolutely not. My life would basically be over if ..... No. When I meet the Mc. And that brings us to the last option. And possibly the only one I felt was actually doable. 7: In A Darker World An Avatar The Last Airbender fanfic. In my opinion, this was my only choice. Everything else be damned. It was the first one I ever wrote, hence, the worst since I was still a newbie to writing, but it was precisely due to this that it was the most peaceful. It was basically the same thing as the series with a few exceptions. The most notable being Aang losing the final battle with Ozai and the gang struggling to deal with the aftermath after his death. The best thing was that I didn''t create any self inserts. No other time travelers, just me. It wasn''t all that great, but it was the best I got. I took a glance before turning to the others to give them one last look. Not gonna happen. Then, I picked the last one and so my new life began. << World Selected. Automatically generating random Identity >> Wait! Would I get to choose who I became myself? << Please select your Drop Era. >> 19,829 BG Era Of Raava 9,850 BG Era Of Wan 762 BG Era Of Szeto 500 BG Era Of Yangchen 345 BG Era Of Kuruk 312 BG Era Of Kyoshi 82 BG Era Of Roku 0 AG Era Of Sozin 99 AG Era Of Aang [The limits of chosen world currently ends at the Era Of Aang. You can choose a specific point in time in any Era between the first and the last in the options listed regardless of whether it is on the list or not. The above are simply the most notable periods for comprehensive understanding] [More Avatar periods exist within certain time-frames that aren''t mentioned. The world in general, culture, heritage and geographical conditions differ as the centuries pass by] [You will be directly dropped in the specified year you choose at your discretion. Anything that happens after is your problem to deal with, so do choose carefully] ¡°...¡±. I could feel my eyelids twitching slightly. I was a fan of the series. That was for sure, since I wrote a fanfic on it, but this list was beyond my comprehension. There were avatar periods I didn''t even know existed. And that was excluding the ones not listed here. Who in bloody hell was Avatar Szeto? And why was 0 AG the era of Sozin? He wasn''t an avatar, but he had his own timeframe. Looking at the other time dates, my eyes couldn''t help but twitch even more. 19000 plus years into the past? The earth at that time would probably be the same as described at the beginning of the Book of Genesis. What was I going that far back to do? I''m pretty sure humans weren''t even alive at that point. So who in hell would give birth to me? Wait ..... Does that mean that I won''t be reincarnated, but just dropped into the elemental nations as I am now? A chill ran down my illusory spine, chilling me more than the thought of meeting the devil. If that were the case, I would be devoured by Spirit beings on my first day. Or would I be reborn as a spirit during the era of Raava and Vatuu thus gaining immortality? No matter the answer, there was no way I was going to risk it. So far, there wasn''t a race change option. And I don''t think I''d go for it even if it was there. Moving on, I could practically exclude anything below 83 AG. The time periods before that were too vague. Even the era of Wan. The first perk, plot knowledge, would instantly disappear. As for why 83? That was the year Zuko was born. Nevertheless ....... ''99 AG''. I made my choice. The thought of not knowing anything that could be used to my advantage for sixteen years was the ultimate deciding factor. 99 AG marked the beginning of the plot. I only knew of some vague events before it. << Please make your perk wish >> My eyes lit up brighter than stars. Alright, now we''re getting somewhere. Chapter 2 Perk Wish Half a minute later, they had dimmed back to the original level. ¡°I should have known .....¡±. I knew there would be restrictions. At least, I wasn''t expecting invincibility to be granted to me. So I didn''t think that far and consciously lowered my standards. ¡°Reality Warping¡±. Silence. ¡°Kryptonian bloodline¡±. There was no response. No reaction whatsoever. That wasn''t surprising. I was just testing the waters. ¡°Rinnegan¡±. Still no reply. ¡°Infinite Copying¡±. ¡°.¡± ¡°One stat point per second?¡± ¡°..¡± ¡°Eternal Mangekyo". Finally, there was a change. I could feel it, a slight nudge from the void that lasted for a split second. Like in a Warmer/ Colder game. In this case, I was getting warmer. I frowned with a bit of thought. ¡°Three tomoe Sharingan". It happened then. The light screen once again appeared before me, but instead of words, what I could see was a loading bar that was almost filled to the brim with green light. Slightly below, was a confirmation button that would most likely finalize my choice. Numerous thoughts ran through my mind as I returned my gaze to the loading bar. It was almost full. Although there was no percentage, I would assume it was somewhere between eighty-eight to ninety-five percent. So apparently, all the stuff I called earlier was way beyond what the loading bar could carry. In that case, my wish perk must not exceed this. I thought hard for a few seconds before trying again. ¡°Mangekyo¡±. The green light disappeared completely, leaving nothing but an empty bar. Sure enough, the restriction was set to this point. Even a defective Mangekyo was too much. So the wish basically couldn''t accommodate the pupil techniques that would be spawned in both eyes. The frown on my face deepened. Even if it could fit mangekyo, the fact that the eyes would go blind after continuous usage was not pleasing to the ears. It was basically a consumable. And there was no way you wouldn''t consume it. If not, then what was the point of getting it in the first place? Furthermore, there was another problem. No Chakra. Eyes without chakra would be useless. Like a sports car with no fuel. The wish might accommodate it to be used on Chi instead based on where I''m going. But ...... There laid another concern. How exactly was I going to appear there? If it was reincarnation, then there might still be a possibility. But if I was going to be dropped there like this ¡­. Then could my body even harness chi? Did it possess it? If it did, how much would I have? How much would be needed to actually use the defective eye and if it wasn''t enough, would my chi grow? Or would it stay stagnant? If my body did not, then the issue was right there. No chi, the wish was basically useless. As for whether the eyes would even work with chi instead of chakra ...... That was also another concern. A risk I wasn''t sure I should take. Then there was also the issue of how much chi I would be able to harness at my peak. Like Kakashi who didn''t even have enough chakra to use Mangekyo for more than a single move. Then ..... He was basically exhausted right after. ¡°Sigh!¡± I sighed wearily for a second. Then energetically began pondering other abilities the next. A pair of nice eyes wasn''t the only thing I could get, after all. From my long experience of reading novels, I guessed that the limit of the wish should be something akin to the world''s laws. Perhaps it couldn''t accommodate something beyond its power scale, or something too foreign. Of course, I could be wrong here. Currently experiencing the difficulty of no instruction manual for this thing. Wait! Power beyond the world''s level? An idea clicked in my mind as I immediately put it into action. Experimenting with the loading bar to see just exactly what the criteria for selection were. And so, I began a new round of testing. ¡°Super strength¡±. Nothing changed on the light screen, but I felt something from the void. Just like before, but this time, it was different. I could understand what it was trying to portray to me. In two simple words ..... How much. My eyes brightened again as I discovered a new possibility. ¡°Superman level strength¡±. ¡°..¡± Nothing happened. ¡°Superboy level strength¡±. Nothing still happened. ¡°Super soldier serum¡±. Finally, a reaction. The loading bar lit up once again, filling move than half of it. I''m assuming sixty plus percentages. ¡°Speed of Sound¡±. ¡°..¡±. No movement. ¡°Iroh level firebending". I estimated about fifty-five percent was taken up. ¡°Mark one Iron Man armor .....¡±. ¡°Density shifting¡­.¡±. ¡°Accelerated healing .....¡±. ¡°Heat vision ......¡±. ¡°Size manipulation .....¡±. ¡°Invisibility......¡±. ¡°Impure world reincarnation .....¡±. Time passed. And I finally discovered the parameters to understand the rules guiding the wish. Basically, the wish equated to immediate combat power. The more powerful the thing I asked for, the more percentages it would eat up. If it exceeded the percentage bar, It would just return to zero. Second, anything wished for would be tweaked to fit the world I was going to. So there was no need to worry about different energy sources not being able to power the wish if need be. I guess this was a small perk on its own. And now, I was about to discover the third rule. If the percentages equate to the combat power, then what about something that grants no immediate combat power but could grow more powerful later on? ¡°Azula''s Firebending affinity¡±. I uttered while watching the loading bar light up with green color intently. A moment later, I found a small grin appearing on my face as I watched with inner elation. Thirty percent ....... Or, at least that was my conservative estimation. Honestly, I''m not sure if it was even up to that much, but the bar certainly didn''t reach half. If I really had to take, I guess, I was going to throw in a twenty-five percent at best. Then ....... ¡°Aang''s Airbending affinity ......¡±. It was roughly the same. Perhaps slightly smaller than the last one. Almost unnoticeable if I wasn''t wrong, but still. ¡°Iroh''s bending affinity¡±. Another one came out. Noticeably smaller than the other two which was a bit surprising. Compared to iroh''s bending ability, the talent to achieve it was much smaller than I expected. Which basically confirmed my thoughts. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. The wish criteria was based on immediate combat power. If that wasn''t my criteria, I would be able to exchange for several abilities that would pay off in the long run Too bad, the healing factor of Deadpool and wolverine, while not combat based were too outrageous. Like the others, they didn''t appear at all on the loading bar. Any form of healing that even came close to regenerating a severed limb was also out of the question. I already worked up a possible combination. Azula''s Firebending affinity, Batman''s combat talent, Uzumaki bloodline and lastly, enhanced comprehension or faster nerve reaction speed. I checked using the loading bar. With a few adjustments, all of them could be crammed in to make such wish a reality. And with as little as five years of training, I could become as strong a bender as Iroh, Ozai and Jeong Jeong if I started at the age of five. This was also a conservative estimate, accounted for due to the possible rebirth conditions. E.g, being born in a poor home or in the wrong nation. In less than ten years, becoming as strong a bender as Roku and Sozin at their peak wasn''t out of the question. Mastering heat manipulation, Lightning bending and perhaps a variation of combustion bending was also possible. A fifteen-year-old with the strength of Avatar Roku. Roku''s bending experience at his prime, given to anyone else could constitute an inferior avatar state. I also thought of something similar. ¡°When there''s a will, there''s a way¡±. I tried it spontaneously. As a result, the experience bar reached a full eighty plus percent. It came to me from the thoughts of my past life and similar to the above-mentioned, it was a potential type ability. Basically, as long as you are willing to work hard, you will receive the fruits of your labor. A regular person could be a master swordsman, a great inventor, a master engineer with enough time. If you could bend, a master bender as well. With every passing day, you could get better and stronger as long as you were willing to put in the grit. No need to worry about wasting your time and energy on a fruitless endeavor. Almost defying the boundaries of talent. Something simply tailor-made for people like Guy and Rock Lee. It was almost akin to Saitama''s training exercise. Continuously exercise and become stronger. However, this one had heavier limitations. It was slower than regular talent and needed accumulation over time to create actual results. Until you can catch up with geniuses through your own efforts. This has greater potential than the former combination but wasn''t feasible and would take longer. Much longer. As while, it could defy talent, it couldn''t change it. Plus, the physical condition must be put into account as well. Too much training without a proper self-healing factor would damage the body. Which would lead to internal injuries, which would lead to disabilities. If you grew old, then the effect would decline. You couldn''t continue to grow stronger when your physical functions were declining. And if you didn''t have even the minimum qualifications to learn it, then it wouldn''t work, no matter what you did. A non bender couldn''t become a firebender through consistent practice. At least a trace of firebending DNA, no matter how thin, was needed within your genes. It was the kind of skill that was best paired with an immortality perk. The older you get, the more demonic you become. For long-term growth, both options were good for consideration. However, a problem suddenly occurred. That was ¡­. I didn''t have time to wait. If it were before I picked the timeframe, then I would have selected to go back in time, ten to fifteen years with one of these two or thought of something with similar potential. But ...... 99 AG. It was already selected. If it were in the main avatar series, then perhaps I could, but this was an AU I wrote myself. Aang wasn''t going to defeat Ozai. Hence, if I wanted to live a peaceful life, that job automatically fell on my shoulders. I must prepare myself for the eventual possibility that I might have to kill the Fire Lord in Aang''s place. I couldn''t gamble on potential and play the long game. I needed an advantage that could be transformed into immediate combat power in a matter of weeks, months, at most a year. With that, my options immediately narrowed. And removing things that were too powerful, my options narrowed even further. When the experimentation was over, I realized that it was a lot harder to choose than I initially thought. First thing first, long term potential abilities are ruled out. Next, using the full loading bar solely on physical increase was similarly ruled out. It is unclear to me why but for some reason, wishes that pertained to body strength increase, speed increase, defense increase and self-healing were quite costly. While things akin to information, knowledge and talent had better cost price. Investing the full thing into a single one of these, while it would make me far stronger, was nowhere near enough. I would be able to lift a few tons if I put it all in strength but without the other corresponding body attributes, I would be too single and easy to target. Too much defense wasn''t going to work either. Speed ...... Similarly restrictive. There was a limit to how much you could lift if your muscles couldn''t support the weight. The same way, increasing speed without sufficient ability to resist could destroy my legs if I ran too fast. My brain reaction also needed to be boosted to keep up. Without the speed of sound at the minimum, something the wish was unwilling to give, I found it inadvisable. Once those types were ruled out, I found myself with numerous choices. Come to think of it, it still didn''t seem to have decreased one bit. Another thing I noticed was that abilities that required a form of energy to use were considerably cheaper. So, I focused on that direction. ¡°If I want to get anything good, I need chi ......... But directly asking for enough of it will cost too much and be counterproductive ....... So ..... Instead of getting it for myself ¡­.¡±. My eyes lit up again for the third time. ¡°I''ll get something that can get it from others¡±. My initial thought was to ask for something similar to the Uzumaki bloodline for chi. But that would either cost too much or take too much time to gain enough of it. In that case, get something that can steal it from others. Something immediately came to mind. ¡°Chakra absorption technique......¡±. In the Naruto world, there were many types of chakra absorption techniques. People like Hoshigake Kisame, The sound Ninja that fought Sasuke, Orochimaru''s minion Jirobo, the aburame clan''s Kaikachu, Samehada and First hokage Senju hashirama had techniques that could absorb the chakra of others. However, the absorption all had something in common. That is, it wasn''t permanent. I wasn''t sure of this as there wasn''t much explanation on chakra absorption techniques. If not, then the sound Ninja who used it in the chunin exam should have been targeted if it could permanently add chakra. The other methods more or less had attached tags that enabled them to do so. Such as First Hokage''s word style. Aburame clan Kaikachu bugs being insects and Samehada being a living sword and all. I couldn''t afford any of these right now. So ..... Add a word at the beginning. ¡°Permanent Chakra absorption technique¡±. A technique that didn''t belong to the Avatar world appeared, taking up about twenty percent of my loading bar. Like I said, information and knowledge-based abilities took less. The energy problem was solved. Next, I wanted something for defense. Since I couldn''t drastically improve my constitution to the point of being impervious to the elements, or improve my speed to be fast enough to outrun them, then I needed another way to effectively avoid attacks aimed at me. In Avatar, blood benders existed. Although not many, Hama and Kitara were blood benders. Even if their bending was heavily restricted, even if they could only do so on a full moon, no one would feel comfortable knowing that someone had the potential to control you like a puppet. I was no different. Even Aang in his youth was helpless against Hama''s blood bending. He could only escape blood bending later on with the power of the Avatar state, channeling huge amounts of cosmic chi. Even if I absorbed the chi of the entire world, I doubt it would be enough to match Aang who had Raava. (He''s basically the Avatar version of Naruto with nine tails) There was also metal bending that had the possibility of bending the iron in blood and air bending to take away the air out of your lungs. Nobody in this stage could harness such power, but I will be taking precautions nonetheless. After thinking for a long time, I could only come up with four possible solutions after eliminating others. One, Kamui. Two, teleportation. Three, Density shifting Four, making myself immune to bending in general. Number four is automatically scratched out. Too difficult to achieve. One was next. Kamui was too expensive. That left teleportation and density shifting. Full-fledged teleportation was impossible. At most, I could teleport in short flashes within a twenty to thirty-meter radius at most. Density shifting ....... That was more doable. Moving through solid objects, changing your body density making it immune to air, heat and blood bending, as well as the ability to dodge both physical and elemental attacks. Aside from Kamui, it was perfect for me. However, as the principle ability of Martians and a certain mutant girl, it was also expensive. Too much for me to afford on its own. If this was going to be my perk, then I had to make it count. And for the first time in my lifetime, I was glad I studied economics in college. ¡°Density shifting requiring large amounts of Chi to perform. Can''t change the physical strength of the body or harden it in any way. Can''t change the density of objects more than half my total body weight. Any additional will increase the Chi requirement greatly¡±. This was another thing I discovered. I could place and remove restrictions on the wish object itself. For example, I could ask for a perfect devil fruit. Or, I could ask for a heavily weakened kryptonian bloodline. But even the weakest kryptonian bloodline was not something my wish would allow. Anyway, the density shifting of Martian Manhunter and the mutant girl didn''t obey the laws of conservation of energy. This was what made it so outrageously expensive. What I tailor-made for myself did. And so, another sixty plus percentage was taken out, leaving less than twenty percent for my final choices. Now I had an auxiliary control technique for chi which in some ways could serve as an attacking technique. I had something suitable for defense as well. Now, in this world of bending the elements, I needed stable attack power. The higher, the better. As well as something that could give me the ability to best the avatar in a battle if need be. However, with the pitiful amount of loading space I had left, I doubted I''d be able to find such a thing. Honestly, I really wanted a Susanoo at the moment. Or an Amaterasu, tsukyuomi, Reverse Kamui, laser vision, telekinesis, a nine tails, flame control to make me the natural enemy of all firebenders, something particularly offensive that could allow me to fight a whole nation by myself. However, I couldn''t afford any of that. So I settled for the best thing I could get. ¡°As much Chi control ability as the rest can give me¡±. << Confirm your choices >> Hearing this, I immediately hit the confirmation button. << Selection confirmed, would you like to avail? >> ''Yes''. And like that, everything disappears. My consciousness fades, and when I wake up, I find myself laying down on a charred sandy ground, looking at the cloudy sky with a bit of grogginess in my eyes. "Where Am I?" Chapter 3 Senlin Village I found myself laying flat on the floor. The place around me was a textbook example of deforestation. The ground was scorched into ash, the trees in the surrounding areas were burned to the ground. There were no animals, no sounds, no place for shelter, nothing. It was all destroyed, to the point of being uninhabitable. Standing up, I subconsciously began to pat my back area to get rid of the dust I was sure had accumulated on me. I wasn''t a clean freak, but getting dirt on me was something I disliked greatly. And upon patting myself to clean off the possible dust, I realized something. Freezing for a moment, I raised my hands to meet my gaze and had my eyes widen slightly. Fair ...... A bit too fair for my liking really. Now that was exactly the problem. As I remembered I had similar skin back when I was still alive on earth, but that was basically changed during my college years. A tan was something me and the guys back then would get together to get on every once in a while. On bright sunny days at the beach ...... sigh! Good times. Where was I? Oh yeah. But now, my arms were fair again. They felt smaller too. I took my time to feel my body, feel my face and feel a certain something between the legs. Thank the possible gods, it was still there. Well, all the feeling didn''t give me much information. It''s not like I could tell how I looked like just by touching my face and physique for a few seconds. I didn''t have photographic memory, so I wasn''t sure if I still looked the same as back on Earth, but two things were for sure. One, this body was definitely younger. And two, my hair was back. Note to self, carrying too many burdens in life could greatly stimulate hair loss. It truly added to my glumness when I walked on the road with a shiny bald head that could reflect sunlight before even reaching thirty years of age. I spent more time feeling my hair than I did the rest of my body. Opening my eyes with a satisfied smile after several extra long seconds, I put away my unnecessary thoughts and examined my situation once more. Finally, I inwardly asked the question I probably should have first asked myself when I woke up. ¡°Alright, now ¡­. Where the hell am ......¡±. It happened then. My words came to a halt as within my field of vision, a bar I was all too familiar with appeared within my line of sight once again. ''Huh? ¡­. Um, accept''. I raised an eyebrow before focusing on the bar and willing inwardly. The next moment, it expanded to display those things you usually only see in video games. A status panel. Name: Luca Race: ....... Attributes: Strength 10, Dexterity 9, Constitution 11, Chi 1, Perception 8, Fatigue: 9/100 Alignment: Lawful Evil Personal Perks: Density Shifting, Permanent Chi Absorption, Chi Manipulation: 186 Mastered abilities: ......... Assignable Achievement Points (AP): ........ Status [Otherworlder......] - Goo~ood morning ATLA. In this new world you find yourself in, you''re literally the textbook definition of the word foreigner. Until your foreign soul adapts, this particular uniqueness will strike you as slightly off to regular people and even more off to those spiritually sensitive. And will arouse the strong interests of supernatural beings from other realms. Most will try to possess you, others will try to eat you. So do proceed with caution and try your earnest not to get noticed. Of course with your current origin identity, that''s harder said than done. - ...... For a moment, everything else but the status was selectively ignored. Following which, my face darkened to a considerable degree at the status info. The words ¡°Will try to possess you¡± and "Others will try to eat you" were particularly eye-catching. All that was left was for it to be marked in red. ¡°Wait a minute, was i practically thrown in here just like that? Is it reincarnation or soul crossing? And there''s an origin story?¡± ¡°...¡±. As you can probably guess, there was no reply. My eyes narrowed for some time, until I let out a deep breath and drew my attention away. What''s done is done. It wasn''t worth it. If anything the status insinuated was to go by, then I was sure I had crossed over through soul form. So my soul wasn''t of this world. That could either mean reincarnation or soul crossing. I was kinda betting on the latter. But the strong hunch that I was in a younger version of myself was particularly prominent. I couldn''t understand why. As for why it was younger ...... Perhaps a younger version of myself. Judging from my current height and body size, I should be somewhere around sixteen to eighteen years of age. Still, the "how" was a question I had no answers to. The classic stream of memories rushing into my head that was described in most novels wasn''t happening to me. I had no idea if that was good or bad. Thankfully, I was didn''t wake up naked. Currently, I stood straight, covered in a pure black robe with high collars from my neck area to the base of my ankles. You could practically say it covered me from neck to toe. Why in hell was I wearing this? The fabric didn''t look luxurious in the slightest sense. But rather ...... Plain. I didn''t dwell on this. And as much as I would like to go back to the floating screen on my retina, I knew this wasn''t exactly the best time. First and most importantly, my throat was particularly parched and a slight pang in my stomach signifying hunger was emerging. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. All in all, I needed to get out of this forest. As far as my eyes could see going forward, what was before my sight was a hill obscuring my vision. Looking back, I could see the black patch extending a long distance before finally coming to an end. Beyond that was large amounts of greenery. I was in a forest. Strangely however, this part of the forest had been burned. ''Fire Nation''. The thought instantly appeared in my mind. This year was the beginning of the plot. A time I would consider the Fire Nation to be the most active, so it was no surprise. Right now, I stood on a slightly elevated hillside. Faced with my first minor dilemma. Which direction should I go? Going forward meant going to the other end of the hillside. Just from the fact that this place had been torched, there were high chances that Fire Nation troops were on the other side. But I was reluctant to go back. Because it was too far. If the scorched earth was a black scar, then I was mostly at one end of it. Going in the opposite direction would mean traveling to the other side. With the distance that lay before my eyes, and the dimming sun that showed it was already way past noon, I knew I''d still be walking when night fell. Sleeping out in the wild in a foreign world was not an experience in my bucket list. So ....... I took my chances and walked forwards. I couldn''t fathom what was going on through my head at that moment. Logically, I should be wary. More cautious. After all, this was the world of people with elemental abilities capable of killing a regular person with one move. And a possible group of the worst ones could practically be on the other side. Although the show didn''t show much of the gore ...... Or any of it for that matter, I wouldn''t be so stupid to believe that things were the same way it was painted in the series. With my current strength, Fire Nation was bad news. If I were discovered, then my life would basically be up to fate. So I decided that as soon as I caught even the slightest glimpse of a Fire Nation camp, scout or messenger hawk, I''d flee as fast as my two legs could carry me. Thankfully, it never came to that. As to my great relief, I saw what I direly needed at this point in time. Civilization. Or to be more precise, a village. And so, I walked forwards, quickly disappearing to the other side of the hill. Completely unaware that a great distance away, at the center of this large piece of scarred land, a three-meter tall statue of a menacing looking grizzly bear had been observing my every move since my arrival. The stone eyes glowed light green for a split second, focusing on my disappearing silhouette before returning to normal. ......... Wooden houses, a small settlement covered by a multitude of trees and dense vegetation, with low stone walls fencing the entire place. Well, half of my hopes had gone back down. Not exactly the big city I was hoping for, but it was good enough. After all, we can''t always be winners. At least I''d found somewhere to stay for the night. I could get some food, water and inquire about ....... Wherever the hell this is in the Avatar world, so I could plan my next steps. And what time it was exactly in 99 AG. Going down the hill, I let out a sigh of relief. Although the future still wasn''t clear, at least my worries of dying on the first day of transversing could be put down. Moments later, I realized I had spoken too soon. The hillside I walked on was slightly steep. In order to keep myself balanced upon coming down, I placed my left leg on a protruding rock. Crack! ''Oh shit!'' was all I had on my mind when the rock broke off, causing me to lose my footing. The next moment, I was tumbling down a hill unable to stop myself. The last thing I remembered was my finally crashing to the ground, hitting my head against a rock and falling unconscious. ....... Senlin Village ....... (A few hours Later) In a wooden, antique styled room that looked like one from a Japanese anime, a bandaged young man slowly opened his eyes as the darkness began to fade away. ¡°Ugh .....¡±. He groaned in pain and disorientation. ¡°Where ..... What ......¡± The darkness receded as clarity returned to his vision. What came into his sight was a roof. ''Hold on ...... Wasn''t I ¡­.''? ¡°It seems you are finally awake, child¡±. The drowsiness he felt suddenly faded away by more than half. The door on the side was pushed open. Following which, an aged man with a cane walked into the room. He had a back head full of gray hair. Quite literally long, gray hair stretching past his neck point. The front however ....... Was as shiny as his was back in his own world. A kind smile adorned his old wrinkled features as he projected a friendly, gentle demeanor towards the young boy who now lay on his bed. ¡°Are you alright? Young one¡±. The question immediately caused his eyebrows to furrow. ¡°I .....¡±. He moved while trying to reply but winced as he did. Pangs of pain struck him from several parts of his body. ¡°Easy child. Do not move so soon¡±. A flash of distress streaked past his eyes as he spoke. ¡°The body needs time to heal from its wounds¡±. ¡°Where..... Where Am I?¡± Luca uttered with a frown on his face. ¡°..... And who might i ask, are you?¡± ¡°We found you near the hills from our village. Thank goodness we did too. You were laid out on a rock with your head bleeding out and if no one came across you, chances are you might have died¡±. The old man''s words seemed to awaken him. A second later, it all came back. Luca, who remembered everything right before he, fell unconscious had his face darken. Just when he was secretly relieved, he almost killed himself by stepping on a wrong stone. How unbelievable was that? For a moment, it was almost as if he could feel the world''s deep malice towards him, an outside existence that had stepped foot into its territory. Seeing him remain silent. The old man watched for a few seconds before asking. ¡°What is your name child?¡± ¡°....... Luca. I''m Luca ..... And thank you for saving my life¡±. He replied after a moment of silence. His real name back on Earth was Lucas. Back in high school, his friends and parents (while they were still alive) called him Luca as a nickname of sorts. He lowered his head, and said very seriously. ¡°I''m in your debt¡±. ¡°Luca huh? ........ Interesting name of yours. Well hello Luca. I am elder Wu. The oldest resident of this settlement. On behalf of our small town, Welcome to Senlin Village¡±. The old man uttered. Strangely however, his features looked ..... Slightly relieved. But Luca didn''t notice. Instead, his mind was filled with slight doubts as the name of the village played out in his ears. ''Senlin village ...... Senlin ..... It sounds oddly familiar''. How he knew that name was rather vague. Quite frankly, it should be from the Avatar series, perhaps one of the less notable locations. Much less. Or else, he wouldn''t struggle to remember it. Almost like it was at the tip of his tongue. ¡°So child ..... Tell me, what are you doing here if I may ask?¡± The old man suddenly asked with some seriousness. ¡°The nearest village to our town is a long-distance away. So may I ask where exactly do you come from?¡± ¡°..¡±. Silence enveloped the atmosphere as Luca didn''t respond. ¡°I ..... I don''t know¡±. ¡°You don''t?¡± ¡°N-No. I can''t remember¡±. He said with a look of pain as he raised his hand, placing it on the bandaged side of his head. The old man was surprised, slightly thoughtful, before shaking his head with a low sigh. ¡°You have lost your memories¡±. ¡°..¡±. He didn''t respond. Which in itself was an answer on his own. The atmosphere changed. Ultimately, it was the old man''s voice that broke the awkward atmosphere. ¡°All will be well child. From what I can see, your current body condition requires you to rest and heal. Perhaps with enough time, when you regain your strength, your memories will return¡±. He said while standing up. ¡°Do not force yourself to stand up. We will discuss many things when you can stand on your own two feet¡±. ¡°Thank you, elder Wu¡±. ¡°It is fine¡±. The old man said before turning around and walking out. All that was left in the room was a bandaged Luca who was scratching his head slightly with some annoyance. He frowned slightly. Something felt off, concerning how the old man spoke to him. He had no idea why he felt that way. Perhaps after spending years meeting all kind of people in search for opportunities to better his life, he had grown accustomed to specific speech patterns. However, he just couldn''t lay his finger on it. And for good reason too. His head was currently aching with a dull pain due to the injury. Sitting on the bed for a minute and seeing that no one had come in after him, he let out a breath. ''Well, although there were some bumps. Quite painful ones, I made it. Now, let''s take a better look at that stat panel''. Chapter 4 Stats Panel Sitting on the bed for a minute and seeing that no one had come in after him, he let out a breath. ''Well, although there were some bumps. Quite painful ones, I made it. Now, let''s take a better look at that stat panel''. ''Stats Panel''. He said in his mind. Following which, lines of green texts appeared on his retina. Name: Luca Affiliation: ... Attributes: Strength 10, Dexterity 9, Constitution 11, Chi 1, Perception 8, Fatigue: 12/100 Alignment: Lawful Evil Personal Perks: Density Shifting, Permanent Chi Absorption, Chi Manipulation: 186 Mastered abilities: ... Assignable Achievement Points (AP): ..... Status: Otherworlder/ ... After a minute of close observation, Luca concluded (Much to his disappointment he might add) that this wasn''t a game levelling system. There were no Level bars, Experience Bars, Quest Tabs or extra stat points column. Although he wasn''t expecting it initially, he was quite hopeful back out in the charred forest when he first saw it. ''And once again, my imagination beats reality''. Expectations fell rapidly. Seeing the stats there, he held back the urge to sigh a bit. However, that slight trace of disappointment disappeared without a trace and huge bouts of realization began to bombard him. It was a great mystery that had never been solved back on Earth. Where exactly do people go when they die? And now, he was experiencing firsthand one of the few case scenarios that probably any otaku and every otaku dreamt for and would die for. Quite literally. As someone who wrote fanfictions for years to get by, he knew many people who would likely jump at the chance to get run over by the Almighty Truck Kun and begin the legendary Isekai. Luca would cringe whenever he heard that word. But now, here he was. Back in the endless white void, for some strange reason, he had taken the whole death, rebirth and new life thing pretty well. He didn''t bother to question what was going on, ask why or how. The degree of calmness one would need to face the facts that they just literally died was quite frankly something he knew he didn''t possess. He didn''t even bother to think about it when he landed in the forest. Only now that he laid on a small, slightly comfy bed, retaining a slight sense of security did it all begin to freak him out. He had died. And he was now in another world. Not just any other world, one of the fanfictions he personally wrote. At that moment, his chest began to rise and fall with quickened pace. Now there was another opportunity before him. To lead a life entirely different from the one he once had. And this time, he had the tools and privileges to achieve it. But ... Now came the difficult part. Something he never really thought would be difficult at all. How was he going to live this new life? What exactly was he going to do? It was basically equivalent to the "Where do you see yourself in five years from now" question. If he were to answer plainly, then ... "I see myself alive, well and free". Was that what he wanted? Yes. Could that be regarded as a real goal? He didn''t know. It happened then, just when he was contemplating, new words appeared at the corner of his vision. [You have several unread messages] All his messy thoughts came to a halt. ''Open''. ¡ª Congratulations. You have become a [Beta Tester] (Unread) ¡ª You have begun your new Life in the (Trial World) ''Trial world?'' Luca raised an eyebrow. The messages didn''t stop there and continued. ¡ª The trial will come to an end when the (Tester''s) playing time is exhausted. ¡ª The final evaluation will be judged based on the Tester''s impact. ''Wait ¡­. what?'' ''You''ve got to be kidding me''. ¡ª The Trial world has smaller insignificant differences from the main reality so do not expect everything to be the same. Several small events compiled together will generate the final ending you have written but failed to describe in which way. "...". Luca was stunned. That was the end of it. Luca looked at the letters disappearing from his line of sight with a slightly stunned expression. It seemed .... Things weren''t as simple as he initially thought. Tester? Trial world? Final Evaluation? Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Of the three, the last one stood out the most. What the hell did this mean? The difficulty of this new life suddenly increased by several notches just from a few messages. A frown appeared on his face as he analyzed every word. Why the hell did this thing give him the feel of dark multiverse vibes? And what did it mean by Trial world? He was supposed to be in his own self written fanfiction. How did it suddenly turn into a trial world? And why in hell was he the one being put through it? Because he was the author? That would explain why he was being referred to as a tester. As for the trial ..... From what he could understand, it should be his new life. And apparently, he would receive an evaluation at the end of it which would probably decide what happens to him or where he goes after his time in this world is over. Why remained unknown. Was this whole thing a chance to redeem himself so he could go to heaven after death? Or would he go to hell if he failed? Or would he even go to any of these places at all if he had a passing evaluation? What would happen to him? And why again in hell was he being evaluated? Why would he need a chance to redeem himself? Was this the process one had to go through to cleanse themselves of sin? Or was this a purgatory trial of some sorts. As the seconds elapsed, countless crazy thoughts and all sorts of conspiracy theories made their way through his mind. All sorts of theoretical, improbable, unbelievable possibilities of why he was here and why he was currently experiencing this went back and forth and back again without giving him a fixed answer. He tried calling out to the panel before him in his mind, calling out to whoever or whatever had brought him here and put him in this so they could explain what exactly he was supposed to go through and why he was going through it. "...". As you can probably imagine, there was no response. This panel wasn''t the fabled system in the novels. It didn''t have an inquiry function or any intelligence for that matter and was just there to display the information it was supposed to. In simpler terms, Luca knew that he was on his own. But that was what made it feel unacceptable. If not for the little awareness he had to realize that he wasn''t back on earth, in his shabby apartment anymore, he would have probably screamed to the heavens, letting out all sorts of ranting questions. His neighbors would most likely think he was going crazy and ignore him. After all, that was modern civilization. He could always find some excuse to explain himself after, even if it would make people think he was a weird. But this wasn''t the modern world. Who knew what this people would do to him if they thought something was wrong. Perhaps they would take him to some kind of old herbalist by force. Or worse, think he was crazy and cast him out of their village. Taking a brief look outside the window, he could see clearly that the sun was close to setting. He couldn''t afford to be thrown out at this time. Leaving to wander the forest in the dark was not what he had in mind. After calling out several times in his heart but receiving no response, Luca finally managed to calm down. The panic hadn''t eased, but was forcefully suppressed. Following which, he decided to do the only thing he could do. Think ''Alright, think. I died, and was inexplicably transversed to my novel world. Now, I''m a tester ... Tester, like in a game''. But the problem being that this wasn''t a game. It wasn''t even in a full game format, as there was no gaming system. New thoughts began to sprout as he analyzed the messaged he received. They clearly stated that he was in a trial world ..... Meaning his fanfiction was a trial world. But then again, if his fanfiction was a world on its own that actually existed, then it should be some form of alternate reality. In that case, why was he here? Another paragraph came to his mind. ¡ª The final evaluation will be judged based on the Tester''s impact. The new life was a trial. For what exactly, he didn''t know. In that case, that question can and will be ignored for now. The trial will come to an end when the playing time is exhausted. Was there a time limit for this thing? Was it referring to the end of the Fan fiction? But he never finished this one. In that case, did the playing time refer to his natural life? The trial would end when his playing time came to an end. Trial World Fundamental differences from the main timeline Years of reading countless novels, fanfictions, creative works and writing them made him gain a shallow understanding of what was happening to him. For some reason, his fanfiction had been drafted into a form of negative alternate reality. A world in which the Avatar failed to stop Ozai. So a dark universe then. And for unknown reasons, he was being sent into that world as a (Tester) for a (Trial). Immediately, Luca felt his scalp go numb at his reasoning. The Avatar''s failure was this world''s falling point. In Luca''s Fanfic, the plot would continue for another two years after the comet comes, in which the gang would try their hardest to battle Ozai''s and Azula''s reign without the help of Aang. All the while searching for the next incarnation of the Avatar. But that hadn''t happened yet. Luca wasn''t at the point after Aang''s death and Ozai had set large parts of the earth kingdom ablaze. Now that ..... That was truly something to worry about. It finally came to mind that this wasn''t the regular world. Now was the time to worry about the followup problems of the world he choose. Forget about the evaluation, Luca had to worry about how he was going to stop Ozai. As a fanfiction author, his works usually followed dark themes. Luca knew just how miserable the future was for ordinary people after Aang''s death. Understandable, he wrote the whole damn thing. If Ozai succeeded, then unless he somehow climbed up the ranks of Fire Nation nobility, military or something like that within the course of a year, then his future would be quite terrible. Azula''s reign of Tyranny didn''t leave the Fire Nation citizens any better than the Earth Kingdom Ozai attacked. If he stayed or hid somewhere in the Earth kingdom, what would happen if he was unlucky enough to have his hiding place blasted with Fire from above? Now add the fact that there was an unknown evaluation to boot. If he let Ozai succeed, then whatever evaluation he received would definitely not be satisfactory. This couldn''t be allowed to happen. The chance of a new life lay right before him. One full of infinite possibilities and the lure of extraordinary power. What he couldn''t do before, now he had the qualifications to achieve it. He had already died once. Now that he was alive, he definitely didn''t want to die again. In that case, all roads pointed to the Final evaluation. All that mattered was the evaluation score. The notification stated that he would be evaluated after the trial was over. Meaning, he would be evaluated if he died right this minute. Or died when he fell from that hill earlier. But his instinct let him know that an evaluation at this point without any notable achievements would certainly lead to nothing good. Forget about instinct, this was common sense. It was only at this point that Luca realized that he was hyperventilating. Beads of sweat had formed on his head and neck, and his chest was rising and falling with rapid pace. This startled him. At this rate, he would probably kill himself first from a heart attack before the fire nation had the chance. Calming himself down, he laid on the bed for several minutes, his busy mind still processing numerous pieces of information. At the moment, he began to thank the invisible gods wherever they were that he didn''t pick any of his other works to travel through. It wasn''t clear to him why he was here, or what exactly he was supposed to do, but he had ideas. And so therefore, his next goal. First things first, don''t die. This was something he was going to do anyway. But that wasn''t as easy as it seemed. Within the first ten minutes of his stay in this world, he nearly fell to his death. How disturbing. If he ever returned to Earth, he would definitely have a word with several fanfiction and novel communities who severely downplayed the dangers of universal travelling. It was either that or he was just too incompetent, almost getting himself killed while walking. Obviously, there was no way he was going to admit such a thing. Back to the point, all this happened with him yet to cross paths with Fire Nation soldiers. He doubted he would last ten seconds if he came face to face with an unskilled bender. Without sufficient strength to guarantee his survival, he would never feel at ease. Not everyone was kind enough to help a defenseless, injured boy who they came across. This time, he could only say that he was lucky. Hence, after sorting out his thoughts ¡­. or at least ordered them enough to ignore them, the next agenda was to immediately transform his perk skills into immediate combat power. ... Patreon.com/Future805 Chapter 5 The Spirit Attacks ....... ¡ª Density Shifting: Allows you to alter your body density and the density of other objects. ....... As one of the three perks he could cram into his wish bar, it was quite frankly the one Luca had the highest expectations for. Although mastering this wouldn''t immediately give him great offensive lethality, it would definitely increase his survivability by dozens of notches. Perhaps to the point of being unstoppable. After all, you can''t kill what you can''t touch. As one of Martian Manhunter''s signature skills, it was the greatest restraint for all forms of bending in the avatar world. As long as he wasn''t caught before he could activate it, even Ozai, Iroh, Kitara with blood bending and Aang in his strongest Avatar state would be helpless against him. Although it wasn''t as convenient as a certain eye technique that allowed one to reach the state of coming and going at will, it was not to be underestimated. Then, he took a look at the cost requirements. ....... Cost: 85 Chi/Per second ........ ¡°...¡±. Ok, it was expected. Following which, his gaze turned back to his current Chi points. ...... Chi: 1 ....... ¡°... Well ¡­". Looking at the numbers on his retina, his eyelids twitched slightly. Turns out, he didn''t even have enough one eightieth of the required amount needed. And it was per second. In order to get this, he specifically set the restrictions for increase in required energy needed for skill activation. At this stage, he couldn''t even afford a single use at all. Luca had his eyes narrow as he moved away from the skills and set his sights on the physical stats. The highest was 11 in constitution, followed by 10 in strength and 9 in dexterity. Anyone who had even a little bit of understanding of video games would need no explanation. Then, there was perception with 8 points and Chi with 1 being the lowest. After a bit of contemplation, he knew he would have to have a physical discussion with others if he wanted to gain an accurate understanding of how well these attributes were. But if it was a rough estimation, then he could do that on his own. His current body was nothing special. At least, he didn''t feel even the slightest bit overpowered, or strong for that matter. The fall from the hill could attest to that. His body was nothing superhuman. Perhaps, up to the level of a physically fit athlete. ''So ¡­. An above average male''. The thought crossed his mind, settling firmly. As for the Chi ...... He didn''t know. There was no feeling of a special energy swirling around through his limbs or near his abdomen. And he wasn''t a native of this world so ..... If he had to guess, then his Chi was practically the same as a regular person. Or ¡­. Perhaps even lower. The level where he could do nothing whatsoever with it. Perception was below average. So he probably wouldn''t notice if someone with light footsteps was sneaking up on him from behind. Pertaining to his survival, these were all problems. Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, and Chi could all be resolved. The first three through practice, the last through his second perk. Perception however, he didn''t know how to improve that. As for what Achievement Points meant, he didn''t know. Neither did he understand why the race option was blank. And honestly, he didn''t really want to ponder the possibilities now. That aside, the alignment caught him slightly off guard. Lawful Evil? What exactly did that mean? The term was one he knew of yet knew not what it meant entirely. Well ...... He didn''t know how exactly it could be used in relation to him. Luca frowned slightly at the thought. It was normal really. Anyone who saw something describing them as evil when they clearly felt they weren''t would feel the same way. In his past life, he certainly wasn''t a saint, but he definitely wasn''t a villain either. That aside. With his second perk, the problem of Chi to use his ability never bothered him. As long as he was given some time and found some Fire Nation soldiers, preferably benders with large chi pools, he would be able to fill up his after extracting from hundreds of benders. As for how he was going to beat a bender ..... That was the concern for future him to worry about. At worst, he would start small from animals. If that didn''t work, he would find a way to trap some bad guys and criminals. And that brought him to his last perk on inspection. Strangely however, the last one was represented in digits like the attributes. Only ..... ¡°This ..... Isn''t this a bit too high?¡± The thought of using what was left of his Perk Wish to exchange for increased Chi control wasn''t really something he had thought over thoroughly. It was one of his choices based on a momentary whim. So to see what was before his eyes was definitely surprising. Luca didn''t know how high this should stack when compared to others but just from the stats alone, it was his highest. Surpassing second place by almost seventeen times. The possibilities of what such a high stat implied was something he didn''t know for now. Nonetheless, he had ideas. Nevertheless, now wasn''t the time. After familiarizing himself with everything in the panel, he knew what his next move should be. Chi. Now increasing his total Chi capacity was the most important thing as only then could he activate density shifting. When he had enough chi, he could begin to experiment. Such was the fate of those who had no AI systems. He would receive no instruction manual for this thing. Knock! Knock! Knock! Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. At that moment, several soft knocks fell into Luca''s ears, drawing his attention away from the panel. ¡°Um ¡­. Come in¡±. The door was pushed open with the one striding in being Elder Wu who had left earlier. In his left hand was his walking cane and in the right was a bowl of what Luca could only assume to be steaming hot food. ¡°Here you are¡±. He said as he placed the bowl before him with a spoon inserted into it. ¡°You''re probably hungry after waking up. I thought it best you eat something¡±. ¡°I .....¡±. Seeing the plate of food before him, Luca felt slightly complex. He was hungry. Quite thirsty too. The old man just gave him food. How thoughtful. Was everyone in the village this nice? ''Wait! Why would this old man suddenly give me food?'' If there was anything he learned from his old life, it was that nothing in the world was free. There were very few good people who existed. And unconditional help was harder to see than a thirty-year-old virgin. What was the catch for all this good treatment? That complex feeling soon turned to slight suspicion. Nevertheless, he didn''t voice it out. ¡°Thank you, elder Wu¡±. ¡°Don''t mention it, child. This world is hard enough as it is already. A bit of kindness every now and then hurt no one¡±. The old man sighed with a hint of melancholy and sadness in his tone. ¡°This war is hard on all of us. The refugees grow increasingly with each passing day as the fire nation march across the lands. Many cities and villages have fallen into their hands. Our town would have been no exception as well, if not for the unsuitable area¡±. His words perked Luca''s attention. ¡°The Fire Nation ..... They were here?¡± The young man asked as he placed his legs on the floor while rising from the bed. ¡°Of course¡±. Elder Wu nodded. ¡°They came to this place around two years ago, conquering the surrounding lands around the great city of Omashu. But the terrain here was unsuitable for their plans; hence they let us be. But not before torching the forest area beyond those hills you were at the bottom of¡±. The old man said as Luca walked towards the table. There laid the black robes he wore upon arriving in this world. Apparently, it was taken off in order to apply hearing ointment to the bruised Ares from his fall. Luca didn''t like leaving himself exposed, so he opted to put them back on again. Picking up the robe, his eyebrows were closely knit as thoughts passed through his mind. The old man''s words ..... The description of the area sounded so familiar. It was definitely from the Avatar series, but why couldn''t he clearly remember episode? He never heard of Senlin Village before. Or he did but forgot. Seeing his expression, Elder Wu tilted his head to the side. ¡°Did you remember something?¡± ¡°...... No¡±. Luca replied after a moment of silence. ¡°But I''m trying¡±. He knew the old man was talking about his memories, but he wasn''t going to tell him where he actually came from. ¡°Oh! A shame¡±. He sighed, then looked at Luca with inquisitive. ¡°But from my take, you don''t look much like a refugee at all¡±. ¡°Huh?¡± He turned to the old man with puzzled eyes. ¡°I mean your skin¡±. The old man said and pointed out. ¡°It''s fair, a bit too fair. You don''t seem to have been under the sun much, or look like one who does regular labor. Not something regular people in the earth kingdom can have¡±. He uttered while stroking his beard as he examined the boy before him properly. Long black hair that stretched down the sides of his face as bangs, stopping at his cheeks. The top was slightly curly, with blue eyes looking at him with confusion, and fair skin tone. According to standards, this was a handsome young lad with a good countenance that could gain a good impression upon first sight. He should know, after all he was quite the charmer during his early years ...... Ahem. However, he didn''t know why. But something always felt ¡­. Off about this young boy. That alongside ...... ¡°Although you don''t remember anything, I would say you come from a wealthy family in the earth kingdom. Perhaps a runaway from home¡±. ¡°...¡±. What an active imagination. Luca was slightly stunned at the old man''s thought process. Following which, he showed a wry smile. ¡° ..... Well, that is a possibility". In fact, there was one thing the old man didn''t mention. When Luca was found, he was bleeding on the head. In order to make sure he wasn''t injured anywhere else, his clothes were removed for a thorough check. There and then, the old man was shocked at what he saw. Scars ..... The young boy''s back had been decorated with numerous scars from several injuries. Some looked like Whip marks, others, blade marks. But from the looks of it, these wounds had happened some time ago. Several months on estimation at the least. For such a young boy, it was horrifying. He might be a captured child from a wealthy family who escaped from fire nation soldiers after they destroyed his home. Perhaps he was beaten severely before he managed to escape. That would explain why he appeared where he found him with parched skin and a flat stomach. Only the heavens knew what this poor child had gone through. So much that he had no recollection of it after injuring his head. Perhaps, his mind wanted to forget it entirely. Thinking of this, his expression remained unchanged. Everyone had their unique story. ¡°So child, what are your plans now?¡± Luca didn''t respond at first. His head was lowered as he pondered what to say to the old man in his thoughts. ¡°I ..... I''m not sure. Perhaps I should start with looking at a map to see where I am exactly. Perhaps I can remember where I come from that way. After that .....¡±. He paused for a moment, then continued. ¡°I guess I''ll decide what to do after that¡±. The old man was silent. Luca sighed. A look of hesitation appeared on his face before asking. ¡°I don''t mean to trouble you. I can leave tomorrow. And I know it''s a bit stepping over my boundaries, but I wonder if you could help me with a map and ..... Perhaps some food for my journey¡±. Luca uttered through gritted teeth. It has taken a lot of mental strength to say those words through them. Back on earth, he rarely asked for things. He was taught to be content with whatever he had and to avoid asking from other people. And that idea only solidified when a former classmate asked him to kneel and beg for a job recommendation after he asked for one. This wasn''t a matter of pride, but principles. He never asked, and so, he rarely gave. Even if he had to give to others. But he knew that now was not the time to be stubborn. He was new in this world. Without a map, he wouldn''t even know where to go. As for food, it was even more vital. He didn''t have a flying bison, and hence he would probably starve to death while travelling a long distance. A map should be fine but asking for food, especially when not knowing the situation of this old man and his village, could easily lead to a problem. If the old man refused on the grounds that he didn''t have much, then the embarrassment would be overwhelming. Elder Wu was silent for a moment, before shaking his head. Luca''s heart sank. ¡°That won''t be a concern. But you can''t leave tomorrow¡±. Contrary to his expectations, the old man agreed but shook his head for a different reason. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because young one, the winter solstice is approaching¡±. ¡°The winter ..... Huh?¡± ¡°The winter solstice. A day when the line between our world and the world of the spirits blurs as the two draws closer together. It is the easiest time for creatures from the spirit realm to enter our world¡±. Elder Wu explained. ¡°The solstice is only a few days away. It is generally not safe to travel around forest areas during these times, as you could possibly anger passing spirits if you encounter them by chance¡­.¡±. The old man continued, but Luca paid no heed. Instead, his mind was replaying the only three words he registered from everything Elder Wu just stated. ''The Winter Solstice ....... The Winter Solstice''. The winter solstice was episode seven of book one in the Avatar series. In that episode, Aang, Sokka and Katara came across a small village that was being plagued by an angry spirit a day before the solstice. Also known as He Bai. The black and white spirit. It was angry due to the forest that was burned down by the fire nation. Not knowing the true culprits, it turned its rage to the villagers three days before Aang arrived at sunset. At that moment, everything came together. The burned forest, the small village, the old Elder Wu, the winter solstice. Luca understood everything. He was currently in Book one, Episode seven of the Avatar Series. And this was the village that was attacked by the black and white spirit before Aang showed up. Luca turned his gaze out the window and happened to meet the sun disappearing. And at the entrance of the village, a large monstrous creature colored black and white slowly appeared out of thin air. ¡°Well, I''m screwed¡±. Chapter 6 Absorb And at the entrance of the village, a large monstrous creature colored black and white slowly appeared out of thin air. ¡°Well, I''m screwed¡±. Rawrrhhhh! A loud roar emerged from its maw as it stood on two feet and raised its head upward. The blue sonic wave shot straight into the sky, rolling in the air and resounded throughout the entire forest. ''Why can''t I be wrong when the bad stuff happens?'' Luca''s eyes widened to the extreme at the direct confirmation of his thoughts. He took two steps back from the window in fear as the spirit creature walked straight into the small village. ¡°Oh my .....¡±. ¡°What the hell is that thing ¡­.¡±. ¡°... Is that?¡­.¡±. "Hei Bai¡±. A grave voice sounded right next to Luca''s ears at that moment. He turned his gaze to see Elder Wu walking towards the window, while he was gently backing away. ¡°Old man ¡­. what is this thing?¡± He knew what it was, but there was no way he was going to show it. After all, he just ¡°lost¡± his memories. Sticking to the role was important for his persona. Only at the moment did he know where he was and what was about to happen. This old man beside him was the one who would discover Aang, Sokka and Katara in the same burned forest Luca came from and ask for their help three days from now. ¡°It ...... Is the spirit of this forest. The black and white spirit¡±. ¡°Ok then ...... why''s it here?¡± He asked with a fearful tone while cussing inwardly. Please note that it wasn''t an act. Currently, he was truly scared of what might happen to him. It was a famous saying that an unlucky person could even choke on air. Well..... Luca wasn''t sure if that was a famous saying, but he heard it more than once. He didn''t want to believe he was that unlucky, but the reality of his situation was telling him otherwise. He just had to be dropped in the village, where the spirit monster shows up and goes on a rampage. And it wasn''t even on the day when Aang arrived. ¡°I ..... I don''t know¡±. The old man replied in confusion. ¡°It doesn''t usually have any intersection with the villagers. Neither does it ever come right to our .....¡±. It happened then. The old man had barely finished his words when the spirit as big as a building turned into a white blur. Appearing at the distant house, it raised all four of its arms and struck down. The side of the building was smashed into, causing a very loud bang. Dust and debris flew in all directions as the wooden house scattered with a single strike. Seeing this scene, the villagers who didn''t understand what was happening fell silent for a second. The next, panic spread. Everyone turned around and rushed towards the largest building in this small town. The village hall. ¡°Elder Wu¡­.¡±. Luca opened his mouth to speak, only to close it as the old man turned around and moved towards him. ¡°Hurry, we must get out of here now¡±. His wrinkled hands directly grabbed his as he pulled him towards the door. Allowing him to pull, Luca followed without the slightest resistance as they both dashed outside the house. He looked back towards the window only to see the spirit monster turn into a blur again and rush towards their direction. ''Oh shit!'' Bang! They had barely emerged through the door when the building was smashed into. The shockwave from the collision caused both me and the old man to lose our footing and stumble to the ground. The clothes Luca just put on were once again covered with dust, but he didn''t mind that. Quickly getting up to his feet, he took to his heels and ran towards the main hall while thinking frantically. In the series, Aang would calm Hei Bai by showing it that the forest that was destroyed would grow back. He would place an acorn, symbolizing new life, at the feet of the Spirit monster, following which it would turn back to the forest and release the people it abducted. This meant in four days, at most, Aang Katara and Sokka would arrive in this village. That meant Luca would meet the protagonist trio in four days at most. So all he had to do was wait for four days for Aang to solve the monster ..... Or he could do it himself. ''As soon as I find an acorn''. ''I could let Elder Wu know what the problem was, and we could solve it together......'' ''Hold on ¡­''. His running steps came to a halt just as he was about to reach the main building door. ''Elder Wu¡­''. Numerous thoughts had gone through his mind in an instant, and it was where he stood that Luca realized that in his fear, he had left the old man who saved him behind. ''Shit!'' Turning around, he saw the old man crawling away on his back as he faced the black and white monster slowly walking towards him. At that moment, Luca''s mind went blank for a second. Did he actually just abandon the person who saved him in a moment of panic? But, that was ..... was ..... He found it unbelievable. It wasn''t intentional but still, he had never imagined that he was capable of such an act. And so, he turned back to save the old man from the possible jaws of death about to befall him. Or at least he tried to. As the moment he tried, he found that his body and his thoughts weren''t in sync. ''I ¡­. I can''t¡­''. He looked down and saw his hands trembling slightly. At that moment, he knew what was happening to him. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Fear ..... For the first time ever, Luca experienced what it felt like to have his body disobey his orders. ''Move you damn legs! That''s the man who saved you''. He roared inwardly. Unfortunately, the body''s self-preservation instinct locked him in place. ¡°Oh great Hei Bai. Please calm your rage¡­.¡±. Meanwhile, in the midst of Luca''s psychological struggle, old man Wu was backing away slowing while trying to appease the spirit looking down at him. ¡°.... We have done nothing to deserve your anger, please do not destroy our poor village. I beg of you ¡­.¡±. The old man uttered in a shaky voice, managed to pull himself up and fell on his knees. The white pupils of the Spirit monster looked down on the old man. Then..... Roar! It let out a loud roar, enveloping the man with blue light. Old Wu froze in shock and fear, dreading what might happen next. However, contrary to what he expected, the Hei Bai did not attack him nor did it spare him a second look. Instead, it turned its gaze to something else it was more interested in. Luca, who stood at the entrance to the main hall, had his trembling body stiffen. Within his eyes, Hei Bai''s reflection could be seen staring at him with unprecedented intensity. At that moment, the earlier notification from the status screen came to his mind. - Until your foreign soul adapts, this particular uniqueness will strike you as slightly off to regular people and even more off to those spiritually sensitive - ¡ª Similarly, you will arouse the strong interests of supernatural beings from other realms. Most will try to possess you, others will try to devour you - ¡°Oh no¡±. It happened then. Before Luca could react, Hei Bai suddenly dashed forward at remarkable speed, grabbed him with one of its hands and dashed in the other direction. Three seconds later, silence once again returned to Senlin Village as the silhouette of the Hei Bai disappeared into the forest. All that could indicate the tragedy this village has just faced were the two destroyed houses. .......... ¡°Fuck! I''m being kidnapped¡± Luca watched as the spirit monster dragged him away from Senlin Village into the forest. Galloping on five legs, one excluded to hold him, it rushed through the path between the trees at a rapid pace. The village was soon left far behind, obstructing his vision with trees. ''No¡­. I''ve gotta get out of here''. Luca knew the characteristics of this spirit creature. In its rage, the Hei Bai would carry a villager away every night it attacked into the spirit realm. Only this time, it didn''t take away others but him with the odd peculiarity. For regular people, there was simply no way they could return without the Hei Bai personally bringing them back. Unless of course, the hostages were familiar with the spirit world. Luca wasn''t. So if he was taken to the spirit realm by this black and white monster, he could only hope and pray that Aang would be able to save him. That would be the case under normal circumstances, but Luca''s case was far from normal. The panel clearly stated that he would draw attention from supernatural creatures. It probably meant beings from the spirit realm like Hei Bai over here. If he was taken over, the chances of him returning were slim. Not just because the Hei Bai might not release him, but also because he would be trapped in the spirit realm for three days. He would truly be finished if random spirits were drawn to his peculiarity and he was maliciously attacked. Assuming, of course, Hei Bai didn''t attack him first. Even if the above situations didn''t play out in the worst possible way, Luca would never sit back and entrust his safety into the hands of people he barely knew. Scratch that, they had never met in the literal sense. Hence, he needed to escape and he needed to do it fast. ''What do I do ..... What do I do .....''? Pushing as hard as he could, he tried to free the monster''s grip on him, but it wouldn''t budge. His strength was insufficient, so he tried something else. Luca turned his mind to his perks. The only thing he could rely on now were the perks he had wished for. -Density Shifting- Luca''s eyes lit up. As long as he could phase his body even for a moment, he would be able to slip away from this thing''s grasp. -85 Chi/Per Second - Chi 1 - But even a second''s use was impossible for the current him. He didn''t have enough Chi. He hadn''t had a chance to use his Chi absor.... Another thought crossed his mind at that moment. He hadn''t used his Chi Absorption technique since he got here. Simply because there was no suitable target to use it on. Now, it was different. Weren''t spirit creatures basically full of Chi itself? Thinking up to this point, he no longer hesitated as he placed a firm hold on the Hei Bai and activated. ''Please work ..... Please work''. He thought inwardly as his palms gave off a blue glow. The next moment ..... Gasp! Luca raised his head up and let out a subconscious gasp. It couldn''t be helped. As the moment he activated the Chi Absorption technique, large amounts of energy flowed from the Hei Bai directly into his body. ''Oh ¡­ my ¡­''. Chi was a metaphysical energy that all benders used and could feel. As a non bender and a foreigner for that matter, Luca couldn''t feel the so-called energy within his body, despite the stat showing it existed. That all changed now. If he could open his status panel, he would find his Chi stat adding ¡­ Spirit Chi: +102 Spirit Chi: +89 Spirit Chi: +95 ..... For every second that passed. The forest around them disappeared as the Hei Bai spirit ran into the scorched land. Seeing this, Luca had to put aside the intoxicating feeling that was spreading through every vein within his being. Because he was close. The Hei Bai would run straight towards the large bear statue at the Center of the scorched land. Once it got close, it would instantly disappear into the Spirit realm along with anything connected to it. Luca, who had wanted to get off this death trap a few moments ago, now wanted the journey to go on for a few more minutes. This was no longer a kidnapping, but a money making Joyride. However, the sharp pain rapidly spreading through his nerves told him otherwise. It was all too much. His instincts told him that if he kept on with his actions, he might cripple himself with an overload of Chi. Immediately, Luca stopped his actions and yelled inwardly. ''Density shifting..... Density shifting¡­. Grant me intangibility, for God''s sake .....''. He hadn''t tried this before, so forgive his undignified appearance, as he was just short of screaming it aloud with a hideous expression. After all, if it didn''t work, then it was off to the spirit world. At that moment, he felt it happen. The Chi in his body ran instinctively as it spread throughout his entire being. Luca felt his entire body lighten imperceptibly to the point of being air, then his figure ghosted out of the Hei Bai''s hands and fell downwards. ¡°Damn!¡± Feeling his rapid descent, Luca exclaimed at what was happening to him. However, with his temporary loss of focus, the Chi stopped operating and hos body returned to normal. And so, Luca crashed to the floor, barely managing to escape just as the Hei Bai was about to disappear and knocked himself unconscious yet again. ......... While Luca was unconscious, the rapid sensation of endless energy shooting through his veins gradually calmed down. And as it did, a very surprising situation was taking place at the same time. If Luca took off his clothes, he would be surprised to find that the scars that filled his back were enveloped in a deep blue energy glow. Eventually disappearing without a trace. Like the rest of his body, the skin on his back was as smooth as the rest of him. A sensation he would come to realize later on. And just as the rapid sensation faded, a new sensation emerged within his head and rushed through his subconscious mind. This wasn''t energy of any kind, but the sudden rushing sensation almost all time travelers would experience upon successful transversal. Memories. As within his nap, Luca experienced a full set of seventeen years worth of memories. Chapter 7 Past Western Earth Kingdom..... The trees swayed, blown with the evening wind as they were pulled and pushed in any direction it willed. It was barely nighttime and the moon shone brightly in all her beauty, illuminating the lush greenery thousands of miles below her. The forest was quiet, as it should be during this time. And it was within this silence that a Messenger Hawk crossed into what was once Earth Kingdom territory straight from across the Mo Ce Sea. Flying above the wildlife below it, the domesticated avian creature soared through the air for nearly an hour after leaving the sea area before eventually reaching its destination. It promptly descended from the skies, landing in the one place it was needed. On top of a tower like structure which served as a receiver for Messenger hawks for this Fire Nation Outpost. The communication tower had been built in an unnamed location of the Earth kingdom. This area served as an outpost for a small fire nation division tasked with ensuring the conquered earth kingdom territory remained under the Fire Nation''s control. In nicer words, they were the caretakers. In other words, they were the babysitters. The place was managed by a low rank captain with very little chance of military promotion due to his work designation as such outposts usually weren''t tasked with important duties, hence hardly ever receiving instructions from superiors. It was due to this reason that the arrival of a messenger hawk could be considered a rare occurrence and was hence treated with urgency. - Captain''s Command Tent - A pair of light skinned hands opened the canister carried by the messenger hawk and took out its contents. A scroll. Opening it, he proceeded to read the information recorded within, his face growing increasingly darker with each passing second. ¡°.... That Damn Zhao!¡± A dignified voice could be heard in the small yet luxuriously decorated tent. It wasn''t low at all, allowing the guards at the entrance to hear the anger within it. ¡°.... Is something wrong, Captain?¡± The lieutenant sitting at the table asked with a puzzled expression. ¡°Orders¡±. ¡°From the Fire Lord?¡± ¡°It''s Zhao¡±. Imagine for a moment a stereotypical short, fat, expressionless church priest from a fantasy world. Now take that picture and squeeze it into a Fire Nation army uniform that was just big enough for him to fit into, and ¡­. Shazam ¡­. You have ¡°Captain Han¡±. The lieutenant was even more puzzled. Zhao? The Captain in charge of Ketu Harbor? ¡°Isn''t he a captain? Your ranks are the same sir¡±. Both Zhao and Han were Captains in the Fire Nation, the difference being that Zhao was posted to the Navy while Han was in the Army. Nevertheless, their ranks were the same regardless of which branch of the military they worked under. No military branch was favored over another, so it was impossible for someone of similar rank to order another in the Fire Nation military. Hence, the lieutenant''s confusion. ¡°Not anymore. It''s Commander now¡±. Han uttered gloomily before tossing the scroll at his valued lieutenant to read its contents. ¡ª To Captain Han¡­ It has come to my attention that the Fire Nation Traitor has been spotted within your side of the Earth Kingdom colonial lands. I believe your unit among others, has received the Fire Lord''s orders to recapture this individual dead or alive. And this scroll holds mine. You are to make sure he is captured and inform my regiment the moment you do. I have received orders from the Fire Lord to personally interrogate this scum and extract all useful information I can on the whereabouts of his treacherous superior. You are to inform no one else after his arrest. Failure to keep word of his capture at bay will lead to considerable consequences - - Signed - - Commander Zhao - At the bottom of the scroll was a black and white portrait of a young teenager. Seeing this, the Lieutenant''s eyes widened. ¡°Sir ..... This ¡­.¡±. ¡°Exactly¡±. The picture on the portrait wasn''t vague. A similar picture could be found on a wanted poster visible right on Han''s desk. Similar pictures were being spread all over Fire Nation territory. Even within the Colonies. Luca¡­ Two months ago, news had spread that the accomplice of a traitorous general had escaped from the Prison Tower at the Fire Nation Capital (Also known as capital city prison). Some found it unbelievable that a prisoner escaped the structure where highly prioritized criminals were detained. Others didn''t take it to heart. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. After all, there were many who had successfully defected from the Fire Nation. However, there was only one widely believed to have done so and survived to this very day. That thought deepened even more upon discovering that this defector was nothing more than a seventeen-year-old brat. An escapee still within Fire nation territory, wouldn''t differ from the others. At least Han thought so. Hence, it was with great surprise that a messenger hawk had arrived just this morning informing the outpost that the criminal on the run for the past two months had fled the fire nation islands and crossed into former Earth Kingdom territory. Apart from Jeong Jeong, only four rebels had managed to accomplish such a feat. One of them being this rebel''s former commanding officer. Only then was the profile of this seemingly young deserter dug up to be placed on Captain Han''s desk. Ex-Captain Luca¡­. You heard that right. Upon opening the scroll, Han thought his eyes were deceiving him. There were different ranks in the Fire Nation military. Each branch had similar ranks with some major differences. In the Fire Army, the ranks were as follows. General Colonel Captain First Lieutenant Sergeant Drill Sergeant Private. With the position of a General being the highest and a private being the lowest. Different ranks had different levels of power depending on their stationed posts, family influence, connections and more¡­. Han was a soldier in the Fire Army with close to twenty-six years of service. Years of accruing affluence, merits, contributions, as well as family influence, had pushed him to the position he had now. And while he might have very little possibility of receiving a promotion in another ten years due to his current positioning in the Army, his status as a Captain wasn''t low. As a Captain, he could command hundreds of Fire nation soldiers and was stationed to watch over an outpost overseeing a large portion of conquered land. It took him nineteen years of hard work from the day he attended military school at age thirteen to reach his rank. He had stayed stagnant for seven years till this very day making him thirty-nine years old. And now he was reading a report telling him that a boy not even an adult yet held the same rank he did before imprisonment? Then he checked the records to verify. The result astounded him. Luca ¡­. Aged seventeen ¡­. No, he should be eighteen at this point¡­. Orphan¡­. Military Branch, Army ...... Status¡­ Nonbender ¡­ Fire Army Intelligence and Assassination Division ..... ..... Attained numerous merits through procuring of useful Information and Espionage ..... Attained rank of Captain Late Summer 98 AG¡­. ¡­ Charged with suspicion of conspiracy following the Defection of close superior, High General Onomu to the Earth Kingdom ..... Sentenced to indefinite suspension within the Hari Bulkan Prison (Same prison) until evidence is procured to clear him of all charges ¡­. ¡­. Imprisoned since Winter 98 AG to Mid-Summer 99 AG. (Basically from August in one year to September the following year) ¡­. Charged as an escaped convict from Fire Nation Prison Tower Mid-Summer 99 AG ¡ª Date¡­. The resume was certainly dazzling, Han would admit that. At the same time, it cleared up his doubt, shock, and disbelief at how a teenager so young was capable of achieving a position he spent almost half his lifespan to get to. The military had different branches, and those branches similarly had branches. The Fire Army was subdivided into numerous departments and units that dealt with various tasks and missions. Such as the main battle army charged with conquering Earth kingdom territory and the advancement of the great, glorious cause of the Fire Nation. The Logistics division charged with the supplier of provisions, resources, rations, and weapons. The conscription department that dealt with the intake of new recruits before assigning them to various other departments. There were also much smaller divisions that dealt with many things that would greatly inconvenience the large fire Nation army. Colonel Mongke and the Rough Rhinos were one such division. A group consisting of five elite warriors with various skill sets that were assigned diverse tasks by Generals and the Fire Lord himself. Such as the destruction of Earth kingdom outposts, disintegration of Earth kingdom forces by infiltrating between enemy lines, pursuit of rebels and wanted traitors of the Fire Nation, and of course, intelligence gathering. Which brings back to the Intelligence and Assassination department. Officers in different Departments may possess similar rank but had different spheres of influence and so therefore, different promotion standards. Commander Zhao, while he was still a captain oversaw a major stronghold of the Fire Nation Navy. Ketu Harbor. While Captain Han was responsible for a vast area of Fire Nation colonial territory. The power their spheres of influence granted then was roughly the same; hence Han could easily and freely ignore Zhao''s orders and demands while they had the same rank. Their positions held great weight in the army, but as a result, promotion to higher positions usually took long periods of work and effort. Unless there was a major contribution during the hundred-year one and the merit was stolen by superiors in their stead. Other departments such as the Intelligence and Assassination Division had different promotion criteria. They were typically tasked with information gathering on the movements of Earth Kingdom forces. These tasks involved quiet infiltration within enemy lines, and they had numerous officers hidden among Earth Kingdom nobles. In essence, it was the Fire Nation''s spy organization. As long as there were no major slip ups, it was considered one of the easiest departments to gain promotion during the hundred-year war. However, its entry requirements were surprisingly strict. Luca''s past merits recorded in the scroll were quite impressive. Graduating early from the Fire Nation Military academy. Assigned to such a division, alongside the favor of a general, it was easy to rise rapidly through the ranks within two years. Similarly, his position as a Captain didn''t have as much power and influence as it would in more prominent departments. Of course, he could easily command those lower in rank, as they were unable to refuse an order. But his significance in the fire nation military was much weaker than other captains. Realizing this, Han''s emotions returned to balance. ''Of course. ¡­. How could my life''s effort be upstaged by a simple brat in such a short time''? Reading the scroll listing his achievements, Han was slightly surprised. Unfortunately, such a favored young man was hit with misfortune. The superior officer, General Onomu, defected from the Fire nation. As a result, all those with relations to her had been greatly implicated. Luca alongside numerous officers were imprisoned on grounds of aiding and abetting with an indefinite suspension. The document read that he would be released as soon as investigations were completed and suitably evidence was found. When reading the last part earlier today, Han resisted the urge to scoff. What was the difference between indefinite suspension and a lifetime imprisonment? A year had passed and he was still in prison. The so-called evidence being found was just a ruse. Unless a miracle happened, this boy would have been left to rot in the caged cells of the Hari Bulkan for the rest of his life. And even if he was released, he could say goodbye to his former position ¡­. Or any position in the military for that matter, for good. Now he was a rebel, forever on the run. When placed against life imprisonment, Han didn''t know which one was worse. For a moment, the thirty nine-year-old captain felt a trace of sympathy. Compared to many others who defected from the Fire Nation for different reasons, this boy''s situation was probably the most pitiful. He was accused with no clear evidence and forced to accept one of two choices. Escape or live out the rest of his days in a cell. He chose the former. Nevertheless, sympathy was sympathy. One should always leave personal emotions out of their work-life. Captain Han was a staunch supporter of this notion. Not just because he wouldn''t do something as stupid as trying to aid a branded rebel with no relationship with him, but also because of the said instructions within the scroll he received earlier today. The orders from the scroll were simple. Find the traitor, Luca, at all costs. Although there were no explicit rewards, this statement alone made his eyes widen at the mere mention. Opportunity¡­. Han was already thirty-nine years of age and had been in the Captain position for seven years now. Meanwhile, Zhao who was only thirty-five had gone a step ahead of him and become a commander. In your place of work, nothing was more infuriating than seeing a coworker who joined the company later than you successfully become your superior while you were still slaving away in the same position. Zhao was promoted, so why couldn''t he receive a promotion as well? Han was an ambitious man with a craving for power. And this scroll before him presented an opportunity. Defectors of the Fire Nation were intolerable. To the point that after so many years, less than a handful were still alive. And that was only because they were so deep in hiding that the fire Nation wasn''t sure they were still alive. The manhunt for defectors always existed and would continue to look for them until the very day their corpse''s could be seen. While this defector was a young boy, he was still an Ex-Captain of the Fire Nation. As long as he was captured, then the merit would all go to his name. Coupled with his many years of loyal service and long time in his position, a rank advancement wasn''t out of the question. And so, with the possibility of a promotion before him, the Captain immediately carried out his orders and dispatched dozens of search parties to hunt down the rebel. That was hours ago. Unfortunately, it seemed that Han wasn''t the only one with such ideas. Chapter 8 Eagle Hawk The atmosphere in the tent was solemn. ¡°Sir ..... This ¡­.¡± ¡°Exactly¡±. The picture on the portrait wasn''t vague. It was the exact same boy he had dispatched his soldiers to search for the moment he received the order. This boy had managed to escape from Capital City Prison and evaded the troops securing the Fire Islands, even after word of his escape had spread. It was simply a display of good capabilities. And also, a slap to the face. Imagine a mere prisoner, one who wasn''t blessed with the gift of fire, capable of evading capture from numerous fire nation guards and fleeing all the way to the Colonies. The dignity of the fire nation had been severely challenged with his actions. This couldn''t be allowed to continue, hence Ozai would definitely reward the one who captured him generously. As long as he found the boy first, then a happy promotion was waiting in store for him. Unfortunately, others had similar ideas. The circle of Fire Nation higher command were more or less familiar with each other. As a result, everyone''s surface character had long been displayed to each other. Although they had never worked as a team, Han knew Zhao. Or rather, he knew what Zhao was capable of. The man was a sneaky, cunning Lion Vulture, willing to exploit any possible loophole to further his glorious career. Han knew that this was most likely one of his schemes. Promotion in the Fire Nation was never based on seniority but ability and merit. If this boy was captured under Zhao''s name, then it was possible Ozai would directly promote Zhao to the position of an admiral. (General in the Navy) And what truly annoyed Han to no end was the fact that he could do nothing to stop all this from happening. The Fire Nation military was strict. An order from an officer of higher rank must be carried out without question. If not, then Han would risk the possibility of getting court marshalled. What excuses could he give that would allow him to justify his refusal? That he was worried Zhao was lying and had never received any instructions from Ozai? Regardless of whether he was right or wrong, the punishment that awaited him was not something he wanted to bear. If Zhao was lying, then his destiny was a dishonorable death. But Han''s fate would definitely not be much better for having the audacity to defy a possible order from the Fire Lord. It mattered not whether it was true. Ozai wouldn''t care either way. Everything he had achieved after so many years, placed against the ethereal possibility of a promotion. It was no contest. With the odds stacked against him, Han wouldn''t take such a risky move no matter what. Zhao knew this. Or rather, it was what any sane person who didn''t have a mutually destructive mindset would do in his situation. Han could only blame himself for being a rank lower. The lieutenant folded the scroll back and placed it aside. ¡°... So what will you do now, sir?¡± ¡°..¡±. The question made the Captain''s eyebrows narrow. At the moment, Han knew there was nothing he could do to stop this. However, he was unwilling to let this go just like that. After all, no one liked being successfully schemed against. ''A rebel soldier is what he wants, huh?'' ¡°Captain¡­.¡±. Seeing his leader silent, the lieutenant couldn''t help but speak up again. ¡°I mean no disrespect, but I urge you to quickly come to a decision. The search parties have been out for hours. If the rebel is found and unfortunately killed¡­". He didn''t continue. He didn''t need to. Zhao''s scroll stated that the target must be captured alive. Not just alive, but also captured silently. Apparently, he wanted no one else to know that the target was already in his custody. In that case, after he found the criminal, he still needed to make up a ruse. The search parties wouldn''t stop, continuously searching for a criminal already arrested, until Zhao showed up to receive him. As for why ..... Han wasn''t sure. Was it to stop possible competition? Prevent others from intercepting the traitor before him? ''Alright ...... ''. Han thought inwardly as he rose from his chair. ¡°Ready the Rhinos. Send word to the scout teams¡±. He uttered to his lieutenant with a solemn tone. ¡°To make sure no accidents occur ¡­.¡±. The sound of footsteps echoed in the quiet room as he walked towards the exit. ¡°.... I will have to capture this rebel myself¡­". Caw! Peel calls resounded throughout the Jungles. Also¡­. - Somewhere else - Thud! The ground was trampled upon by a large hoove creature as the sound of a moving cavalry emerged in the once silent forest. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. In a certain part of the earth kingdom forest, stood a group of men. Every single one of them in fire nation uniform. No exceptions. A sergeant dismounted from the Komodo Rhino with his feet landing firmly on the ground. He moved his hand and placed it against the soil that had concealed traces. ¡°Sir, could it be ¡­?¡± A soldier asked. ¡°It''s definitely human¡±. He replied. ¡°This time, the size, and depth matches. I can''t confirm if it''s him, but someone''s certainly come through these parts¡±. The Sergeant replied solemnly. The frown on his face was hard to conceal. The tracks were well concealed. From his analysis, probably a few hours old. ''Finally ..... All morning hunting ¡­.''. He wasn''t worried that the target would have escaped. After all, human legs could only take you so far. Without a fast mount, it was impossible to outrun a fire nation search party. Still, the Sergeant had to admit that this was one of the hardest missions he had ever been on. ''It''s been several hours¡­ This kid''s good''. After a whole day, they were behind the rebel by a few hours. It was appalling really to think this was the work of a seventeen-year-old. ¡°Release the bird¡±. Thinking up to this point, the Sergeant no longer hesitated and gave an order. A private obeyed and immediately went to work. Moments later, a large cage was carried over. In within was a creature nearly three feet tall. An Eagle Hawk. (Cross between an eagle and a hawk with much bigger size) One of the very few that could be captured and successfully domesticated. The bearded sergeant walked towards the cage and opened it. The creature immediately flapped its massive wings and flew out, prompting everyone to take a step or two back in caution. It couldn''t be helped. In the past five years, three privates had died while tending to this creature and more than a dozen wounded. Despite being domesticated, its bloodthirsty nature was difficult to eradicate. However, its usefulness far outweighed whatever it did. Its vision during nighttime was unparalleled, and its ability to understand human intentions allowed it to serve as a great long-range tracker. ¡°Go ..... Search¡±. A scroll was handed over to the Sergeant, who unfurled it and displayed a portrait before the creature''s eyes. The eagle hawk took a good look at the scroll. Then....... Caw! A boisterous Peel Call emerged from its throat as it took off into the air. The Sergeant watched it disappear into the night and spoke. ¡°Get the telescopes. Follow in its general direction¡±. The eagle would make a wide search in all directions within a ten-kilometer radius. Its large size made all other aerial predators avoid it as it surveyed with rapid speed. Unless the rebel hid within a bush, under the earth or in very leafy trees, it was hard to escape its gaze. Once the target was found, it would immediately report back and lead them in the direction it last located the target. He ad his team would take it from there. The Eagle Hawk soared through the skies as with sharp eyes. The western part of the earth kingdom had few areas with tree Groves and areas with plants were more of a green grassland. The rest of the area had more yellow sand and barren earth than it did tall trees. In a place like the Foggy swamp, the reconnaissance value of the bird would be reduced. Here however, was its domain. Less than five minutes elapsed, and the eagle hawk spotted a target. Less than three kilometers away from the spot it was released from. It swooped down, drawing closer to the earth for a better look. Flying across a remote farming village, across a large area of scorched land with no trees, grass or any vegetation for that matter, and across a grizzly bear statue, it soon came to the edge of the black scar and rested on a tall tree. As less than a hundred meters away, a male figure could be seen staggering into the greenery. Dark hair, long black robes ..... Under its eyes, everything was as clear as day. That this was the target it was looking for¡­ ....... Luca staggered away from the burned earth with his right hand placed on his head. Numerous images flashed through his head giving him a splitting headache he felt would make his head explode. It was torturous, really. Having an extra seventeen years of memories emerge in his head wasn''t something the average human could bear. At least, he summed it up to seventeen. After all, there were some fragmented images shrouded in darkness he couldn''t remember clearly. From what he could understand, anything before four years of age just wouldn''t open up to him no matter what. Honestly, he was glad it didn''t. Close to an hour had passed since he escaped the Hei Bai and the sorting of thoughts had never stopped. Any more, and he feared his head would explode. If not for his deep fear that the spirit monster would re-emerge from the statue to whisk him away, he wouldn''t be able to muster the will to move at all. His body and mind aligned this time as he moved as fast as he could to escape. Thankfully, Hei Bai''s statue was far towards the other end of the scarred land so it took him a great distance. If not, he would still be far off. As for Senlin Village? Forget it. At this point, he didn''t care if Aang was going to appear there in three days or even tomorrow. Compared to meeting the protagonist group, he valued his life more. He wasn''t willing to bet that Hei Bai wouldn''t return at any time to kidnap him again. Not to mention, he had bigger problems to deal with¡­. ''Hiss!'' The sharp pain emerged once again, causing him to stumble. The books made receiving memories sound so easy. Damn you Authors! ''I curse your works to lose followers''. Seconds elapsed. And finally, the memory rush ceased and Luca collapsed to the floor with bathed breaths, sweaty neck and forehead and a rapidly beating heart. Memories are here ...... Well, a famous saying, Better Late Than Never, right? Yeahhhh ¡­. No. Honestly, it would have been better if these damn memories never came at all. Because now, he fully understood what the panel meant when it said lying low would be difficult. Fire Nation! Fuck! This body belonged to the Fire Nation. Unable to muster enough mental strength to get up, he took it upon himself to open the status panel where he laid. Name: Luca Race: Fire Nation ....... Attributes: Strength 10, Dexterity 9 Constitution 11, Chi 1, Perception 14, Spirit Chi: 1,785 Fatigue: 35/100 Alignment: Lawful Evil Personal Perks: Density Shifting, Permanent Chi Absorption, Chi Manipulation: 186, Mastered abilities: Stealth: 16, Blademanship: 16, Hand To Hand Combat: 13, Poison Mastery: 17, Disguise:16, Tool Creation: 15, Marksmanship: 16, Lock picking: 15, Earth Kingdom Culture: 16, Interrogation: 17, Battle Instinct: 14, Evasion and Escape: 16, Regeneration: 10 Assignable Achievement Points (AP): ........ Status: Otherworlder/ Rebel (spy)(Fugitive on the run) ........ ........ Not surprisingly, the Panel had changed. Luca looked glumly at the status panel and noticed the race section that was once empty had been filled. It''s confirmed. Fire Nation. ''I''m screwed''. The thought appeared in his head and couldn''t leave no matter what. Playing over and over and over with each passing second. In the Avatar series, The Fire Nation was the well-deserved bad guy. Waging a war of aggression against the other nations with the goal of world domination. They slaughtered the Air Nomads, making Aang the last of his race, devastated the North Pole and conquered earth kingdom territory. Apart from the fire nation, they would be met with hostility anywhere else in the world. Now, Luca found himself on the side of the aggressors. Just great. Now even if he wanted to get all chummy with the Avatar group, the difficulty would increase by several notches just on the basis of his identity. Aang probably wouldn''t mind. But Sokka and Katara would definitely not be so trusting. It wasn''t impossible, but it was sure as hell difficult. And if you think that''s bad enough, then you''re gonna marvel at what comes next. Luca''s gaze shifted to the Status column. Sure enough, that had also changed too. Besides the Otherworlder title, it had a new partner. ¡ª Rebel (Spy)(Fugitive on the run) Chapter 9 Rebel ¡ª Rebel (Spy)(Fugitive on the run) What exactly do you expect? A series of unfortunate circumstances has placed your predecessor in a bit of a precarious situation. Your superior officer made a grave mistake due to her own stupidity and defected from the Fire Nation to save her life, leaving you and a whole other bunch to bear the brunt of her actions. Under normal circumstances, your starting point after crossing over should have been the fire nation prison cell. At the critical moment, the connections left behind by your stupid superior finally paid off. Your former teacher, Master Piandao who taught you everything he knew on the art of swordsmanship, and bladed weapons and cherished you as one of his most talented disciples, laid aside his dignity and pleaded with the Fire Lord to give you an opportunity to redeem your honor after a full year of imprisonment. Ozai, with a scheme up his sleeves and seeing your possible value, agreed to his proposal. And so the respected fire Lord found time out of his busy schedule to pay you, an insignificant pawn a visit in the Capital City Prison (Hari Bulkan). The key to your cell was dropped at your feet as the Fire Lord explained what exactly he wanted of you. Faced with imprisonment, a chance at freedom and possible death if you refused, you graciously took the opportunity presented to you and at a suitable date several days later, escaped from the Hari Bulkan with your life and your skills. Two months later, you have been on the run from the Fire Nation. You successfully snuck into a Fire Navy cruiser and dismounted at sea, not far from the territory you currently are . Unfortunately, the weary soul of your predecessor, finally realized after freeing himself from the immersion of false freedom, the extremely difficult task you have been entrusted with and fainted in Hei Bai''s burned fields. You took the opportunity to cross over. Ozai has placed you in a precarious situation. You are a fugitive of the Fire Nation and the scum of the earth in the eyes of the other nations. Everyone is against you. Those who could still find a chance to befriend you will turn against you when they discover your true purpose. So...... The scum of all nations. Until you complete your task successfully, chances are your status will remain the same, hunted by both Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom until the day you die or have the strength to turn it all around. Permanent Defection is also an option, as well as successfully completing your mission. Nevertheless, your life may not be guaranteed even if you do until Ozai sees your handiwork. You are the greatly enhanced version of Prince Zuko. And not in a good way. ......... Yep, that just about sums it up nicely. The memories he just processed confirmed this fact. Luca''s predecessor was visited by the Fire Lord back in prison. Although he knew not that his old master was the one who instigated it. Ozai had given a task. One that, when he thought of it, was truly difficult to accomplish. The arrogant words and indifferent expression were clearly etched in his mind, unforgettable as if it were just yesterday. ¡°If you, Luca, want to return home to the Fire Nation and regain your honor, glory and dignity, you must prove your loyalty¡­". Ozai''s expression didn''t change one bit. His tone cold, as if he were talking to an insignificant ant. ¡°I am a benevolent ruler ......¡±. Remembering these words, he nearly puked in disgust. Turns out, all bad guys had their shamelessness stat raised to the max level. Or had they brainwashed themselves to the point where they believed what they said about themselves? ¡°.... So I am willing to give you a chance to do so¡±. His face carried a hint of seriousness. ¡°If you want to prove your loyalty, then you must do one of two things¡±. At that moment, hope had risen. Was it possible to actually regain all he had lost? ¡°.. Locate and eliminate the Famed Deserter, Ex Fire Nation Admiral Jeong Jeong ......¡±. Yep, that hope dissolved faster than salt into water. ¡°..... Or ¡­. Locate and eliminate your Former superior ......¡±. At that moment, Ozai''s face flashed with a trace of hatred. ¡°... General Onomu .....¡±. Even if she was the reason for everything that happened to him, at that moment, his predecessor was slightly stunned at those words. For two reasons really. One, because he was being asked to kill someone who took care of him. And two ....... This was a suicide mission. Hundreds of curses neatly arranged themselves and fired at Ozai within his mind at that moment as he took a look at the bastards'' punchable face. You expect him, a non bender, to kill an ex Admiral and a master Firebender ex General? You might as well just put him to death and stop making roundabout excuses to torture him. Those two weren''t people he could take on. Not to mention, they were well hidden. Luca didn''t know much as he had been locked away for a year, but judging from Ozai''s words, his superior was probably still alive. In that case, she had definitely hidden herself well. How in heaven''s name was he supposed to find them when even the Fire Nation found it difficult? Apparently, Ozai knew what he was thinking. Hence, he responded before he could react. ¡°I have little hope for you to kill Jeong Jeong. After all, you know your weight¡±. That was an insult, right there. A blatant one. True, but offensive all the same. ¡°But your superior on the other hand..... There lays hope¡±. He gave a somewhat sagely nod as he spoke. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°Therefore, you can treat her as your main priority. The last piece of information we could find on her was that she escaped to the Si Wong desert within the earth kingdom a few months ago. That is where you must go¡±... Clang! It happened then. Looking down, all Luca saw was the key to his cage being thrown at his feet. ¡°In order to make it as realistic as possible, you will need to escape from this prison with nothing but this key and your own ability. Three days from now, this prison defenses will be deliberately lowered. This will be your only opportunity. You are to escape towards your destination by any means, and you will be branded as an escaped prisoner and hunted by soldiers. Should you fail or be captured, you will be brought back and killed as a public example. But should you succeed in escaping, you are to complete your mission and bring back her head as proof of your actions. When you do, it will prove that you are innocent of all charges, and you will be reinstated in your former post and enjoy all you have once lost¡±. Seeing Luca stare wide-eyed with a slight daze, Ozai uttered coldly. ¡°I am the only one who knows of your mission. Until your task is complete, you are to tell no one of this. I do hope you understand, as I will not repeat myself¡±. Following which, he turned and left, but not before dropping the last sentence. ¡°Prove yourself, young soldier. Your life is in your hands now¡±. This was what he remembered. Clearly and vividly. And this was what had played out for him up to this point. He had escaped from the fire nation all the way. Apart from the prison, the rest was all a testament of his own capability. After the memories fully settled in, Luca realized just how deep a mess he was in. He was wanted by both Fire Nation and Earth kingdom and had to accomplish a nearly impossible task. His predecessor directly gave up the ghost after realizing the gravity of the situation before him. Perhaps it was the helplessness and frustration that caused it, as he saw no way to accomplish the tasks even if he wanted to. Which meant he could only try or die trying. Or, live as a rebel for the rest of his life. And it would truly be for the rest of his life. Aang wasn''t going to save the world, so he would eventually meet his doom. It just depended on whether it was sooner or later. With his abilities, the predecessor saw no hope. It was different now. With the perks at his disposal, Luca knew that all he needed was time. Once he was strong enough, he could carry out his plans however he saw fit. Not to mention, receiving these memories didn''t bring only disadvantages. Luca rubbed his head and brought his attention back to the skill panel. Aside from the status, it had changed greatly in many places. One invisible advantage that wasn''t even reflected in the panel was the fact that he now knew how to read and write the Language of this word. As well as use native phrases and quotes that he once never knew. Chinese Thank God, at least the memories weren''t all bad. It appears that the skills of the original owner could be regarded as a form of compensation for this ridiculously hellish start. Hell mode had benefits. Then came the others. Luca took a look at the list of skills that appeared on his panel with a bit of expectation. What was once an empty bar was now teeming with numerous letters. Mastered abilities: Stealth: 16, Blademanship: 16, Hand To Hand Combat: 13, Poison Mastery: 17, Disguise:16, Tool Creation: 15, Marksmanship: 16, Lock picking: 14, Earth Kingdom Culture: 16, Interrogation: 17, Battle Instinct: 14, Escape and Evasion: 16, Regeneration: 10 Looking at the full skill bar, Luca had one word. So cool. Almost completely made up for the death trial he was forced into. Stealth, Marksmanship...... Battle Instinct¡­ These were all the skills the predecessor had accumulated throughout years of hard work and practice. They were high. At least compared to his physical stats, the numbers behind these skills were higher. Although he couldn''t quantify how well these stats were when compared to others, at least it gave him a higher probability of surviving his current ordeal. Going through them, Luca''s eyes couldn''t help but light up. ''..... Oh¡­. My perception has increased ..... Could it be....."? It happened then. For the first time in ¡­. Well, ever. Luca felt something he had never experienced since his past life combined with the short timespan he had arrived here. The evening wind was icy, but Luca knew that the chill subconsciously running down his spine at the moment wasn''t its byproduct. No¡­. This was something else. At the moment, he felt his hair stand on end. Followed by a rather strong feeling. This one, he knew of. It was the feeling of being watched without your knowledge. Ignoring the rest of the panel he hadn''t explored yet, Luca sat up. The mental fatigue had disappeared as his gaze followed the combined effect of two different attributes working together to warn him. Then, he saw what he wanted to see. Once again, for the nth time today, he wished he didn''t. His eyes narrowed into slits as his body stiffened. On a tree branch not far away was a dark creature. It stood on the branch motionless, so much so that Luca wouldn''t know it was there if that strong feeling wasn''t continuously hinting to him that something was definitely wrong. That feeling was confirmed when that thing suddenly moved. It was large, much larger than any bird he had ever seen in his past life. Luckily, it didn''t seem to be attacking him. Instead, it turned around and took to the skies. If that were all, perhaps he wouldn''t think too much. Unfortunately, the moon was shining brightly tonight. So even though it was dark, the subconscious memory instantly recognized what that creature was. Monitoring Eagle Hawk. One of the best aerial creatures used by the Fire Nation to locate runaway targets within a specific range. It all came back to him how he ended up in this situation. He was being chased...... Chased by Fire Nation soldiers. And they released the Eagle Hawk, which was now going back to report his location. They knew where he was. The elation of the new set of skills was doused instantly like a bucket of cold water. Logically speaking, the original predecessor should have been miles away by now. With his alertness, the possibility of escaping the Eagle Hawk''s range before this was rather high. Unfortunately, he crossed over. Then he changed direction and headed towards Senlin Village, fell and hit his head, laid in a bed for hours and delayed so much valuable time that could be used for escaping. Without him knowing, Luca had made a grave mistake. And unfortunately, it was too late to run away. ''Dammit! Can''t a guy get a break around here?'' Chapter 10 First Kill ''Dammit! Can''t a guy get a break around here?'' Saying this, Luca didn''t even think and let his body do the thinking for him. The eighteen-year-old boy made a mad dash into the vast vegetation before his eyes, as fast as his legs could carry him. At night, without any fire torches to light the way, a human''s vision was severely limited. If one wasn''t careful, they could fall into traps, get injured, trip on a stone, encounter dangerous animals hunting at night, fall of the side of a hill, hit their head against a hard rock. ...... Luca had already experienced the last one. In short, travelling on foot at night and with rapid pace was dangerous. Fortunately, the moon didn''t withhold her light tonight and Luca''s perception had gone up by several notches. Quite literally. Before this, his perception stat was at nine points. It worried him as he had no idea how to increase it. Now, it was as high as fourteen. A full five points increase, going up by more than half. He didn''t notice it at first, but now, the increase it brought to him could be felt clearly. Luca felt ....... Like his eyes had finally been opened. Or rather, like he had opened the legendary mysterious sixth sense. His eyes had also been enhanced to unknown degrees. His vision in the dark was much better than it was before, and he could feel the objects in his surroundings better. Sure, although it wasn''t as outrageous as echolocation, bullet time, Sharingan or 360 degree vision, it was astounding in its own right. Alright ..... Where was he? Oh, right. Thankfully, his perception stat had increased allowing his movements in the grassland area to grow smoother. Coupled with the fact that this wasn''t a jungle terrain, his straightforward movement was unimpeded. But make no mistake. Luca never had any ideas of outrunning his pursuers on foot. That was simply wishful thinking. For an Eagle Hawk to be released, the ones chasing him should be a mounted search party. Their Komodo Rhino''s outpaced him by far. If he kept on running blindly, then an inevitable capture was what awaited him. He certainly wouldn''t have that. So since escaping was out of the question, then there was only one option left. An ambush. That''s right. He had already given up on running away and had decided to take a head on stand. Of course, that didn''t mean rushing to fight recklessly. Luca wasn''t stupid. His running was simply to open up space between them for uncertainty. Placing an ambush at the spot you were last discovered wasn''t practical. So take the opportunity while the Eagle Hawk was gone and find a proper ambush point. He didn''t know how far away the cavalry were. The amount of time it would take to get here could be anywhere between ten and thirty minutes. Sure enough, he was right. The search team of Fire Nation soldiers arrived at the scorched forest and advanced rapidly. How long had it been? Ten minutes? Fifteen minutes? Caw! Time elapsed and before long, they were here. The first to arrive was of course the massive bird of prey to indicate where it last saw the target. The boisterous band of stomping hooves followed, coming to a halt right at the edge of the scorched forest. Under the bright moonlight, the area was further illuminated as unlike Luca, the Fire Nation had torches to light their path. Firebending showcasing Its usefulness. ¡°Sir, the tracks end here.....¡±. A private uttered while kneeling near a set of deep footprints. He pointed forward, displaying their movements heading forward. ''We''re close ¡­.''. The bearded sergeant nodded, his face serious. Now was the time to end this. As it would be harder to follow the tracks within the vegetation. Luca''s footprints wouldn''t be easily shown. ¡°It''s close enough. Send the signal flares¡­.¡±. ¡°Hm!¡± An archer by the side nodded. Then he drew his bow and placed a special arrow with a special tip at the end of it and aimed upward. Special explosive arrows used to signal nearby Fire Nation soldiers. After all, there was more than one scout team searching for the rebel under Captain Han''s forces. This flare would let them know where exactly to go. Even if the rebel could hide for a while, he would be outmatched once encircled with dozens of Fire Nation soldiers. By then, there would be no escape. Bang! In the once peaceful sky was now a colorful explosion similar to the fireworks used in festive celebrations. Three of them shot into the air at the same time, alarming those in the surroundings for miles. ¡°He couldn''t have gone far. Spread out, search everywhere¡±. The rumbling sound of stampeding Komodo Rhino''s resumed as the beasts galloped onto the grassland. This search party consisted of more than a dozen men. Twenty-one to be exact, with two drill sergeants, one Sergeant and eighteen soldiers armed with weapons. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Not everyone in the Fire Nation were benders after all. Among the group, numbering nearly two dozen, only the three Sergeants and four privates were blessed with the gift of Fire. The rest carried either swords, spears, maces, short swords, broadswords, Jii''s (Halberd spear with a crescent moon shape) or bows and arrows. Watching his men rush into the vast grassy plains, the bearded sergeant turned his gaze to the large Eagle Hawk that similarly returned it. ¡°Find him ¡­.¡±. He said to the animal with eyes that shone with human wisdom. Caw! The creature immediately took to the skies, flying ahead of everyone else in search. The Sergeant similarly didn''t delay and followed to join in the hunt. ¡°..... Well, this isn''t good¡±. Hidden within one of the scarce few trees in the area, Luca spoke lightly at the sight of the signal flare appearing in the sky. It was bad, really bad. A search party could consist of one to two dozen soldiers. For a rebel like him, dozens of such search parties could be deployed to search for him. If they arrived, and he still hadn''t dealt with this situation yet, then he was truly a goner. ''¡­ Gotta get outta here..... But how¡­.''. These part of the plains were too open. The trees weren''t tall and they were isolated from one another. There were few areas with a large gathering of trees. With the little time he had, he couldn''t procure a good enough hiding spot. It was only a matter of time, his current location would be discovered. Time elapsed. ¡°Sir ¡­.¡±. The riding cavalry returned. ¡°Where is he? ......¡±. ¡°.... We haven''t found him yet¡±. The bearded sergeant had his eyes narrow. Turning his head up, the Eagle Hawk was nowhere in sight. ''It hasn''t returned¡­''. The bird wasn''t in the sky, meaning it was still searching. Searching for so long without locating its target, it must have gone on to look further. On the open plains ..... It was impossible for someone to outrun an aerial creature in less than ten minutes. The Eagle Hawk couldn''t find him, meaning he wasn''t out in the open at all. ¡°... Sir, the map shows a river two and a half miles from here. If he gets into the river and flows downstream, he can escape our search area. Perhaps the Eagle Hawk is following him down that direction¡±. A drill Sergeant spoke with an expression of contemplation, yet the Sergeant was only half listening. ¡°..... Perhaps¡±. The man had a point, but that was two and a half miles from the initial point. It was improbable to run that far in a little more than ten minutes. ¡°... Or, he''s hiding¡±. The chance existed, but he already had a guess in mind. Then, he immediately began to give orders. ¡°You six, double back to the point we came from, stay there and make sure nothing gets past you. As for the rest .....¡±. Following which, his gaze carried a strong hint of malice. ¡°Spread out and torch the trees. Every last one of them¡±. He ordered while on top his mount. Once the others arrived, they would cooperate with his actions. And every tree within a five-mile radius would be destroyed. If the rebel was hiding, then he''ll either be flushed out or burned to death. Either works. As for the forest ...... They already burned a large part down. What was wrong with burning a little more? And so, The dark night was brightened as Fire Nation soldiers spread out and began setting the trees aflame. Blasts of fire emerged from the fists of those who could bend it. While others without bending would go for more ..... destructive methods. Dynamite, black powder, blasting jelly. Flames and explosions disturbed the atmosphere as the fire once again began to spread. ''Come on..... He''s gotta be here somewhere¡­''. A fire nation archer rode towards the nearest tree amidst the fiery destruction. Drawing an arrow, he lit up the fuse to the dynamite at the arrow''s tail end and fired it into the leafy tree before him. One¡­ Two¡­. Boom! The tree exploded as fire burnt the top area. Bits and pieces of wood flying in several directions. Two seconds passed, and there was no hiding enemy jumping out from the explosion with his body on fire. ''Not here ¡­''. He thought and turned around to ride elsewhere. The moment he shifted his gaze and body, it happened. From the fiery treetop, a figure leaped towards the archer from the flames. ''Huh?'' The latter reacted, subconsciously turning his back only to have something sharp pierced right through his forehead. Squelch! Thud! The sound of piercing flesh was covered up by the loud explosions. As was the soldier''s fall to the floor and the panic of the Komodo Rhino. The soldier died before his body hit the ground, Luca landing right beside him. His clothes were free of flames and soothe, completely unaffected. As for the sharp object used to kill the archer¡­. It was the upper half of the very same arrow he fired. Luca had broken it in half, gone intangible with the part he needed and let the explosion happen. The movements were all done with speed and precision, something he never imagined he could do even after time travel. His thoughts had moved rapidly, planning his best choice of action as the situation unfolded. Of course, it wasn''t all natural. The decision to use density shifting to avoid the aftermath was his active decision. As for breaking apart the upper half of the arrow to use as a weapon, that was all instinctive. Followed by the subconscious actions, not attacking immediately, waiting for the archer to let down his guard and prepare to leave, then intentionally release a sound to draw the Archer''s attention, prompting him to turn his unguarded face towards him while he leaped down and inserted and arrow through his skull. It was imperative that the man turned around as this archer had a helmet on that covered the back of his head and only exposed his face. The timing, the precision ...... All this was done under the span of five seconds without initial planning. As if ..... It was natural. Luca looked at the corpse beside him and his hands that made the kill without feeling a speck of negative emotion. Had ....... Had that become natural too? Taking a life without blinking. So skillfully and naturally, like he had done it a hundred times. In fact, he had. Not a hundred though ..... Forty-nine times to be precise. While this might be his first kill reborn, it was this body''s fiftieth kill. And it certainly wouldn''t be the last for either. As tonight, a lot more were going to be added to the body count. This was just the first one. In the night, Luca took a deep breath and turned to the Komodo Rhino. After the initial shock, it remained where it was. Just watching him while making small movements. Apparently, these things weren''t taught to attack those who killed its master. Or perhaps, this guy wasn''t even its master at all but a random guy going for a ride. Point being, it didn''t rush out in a panic, exposing his position. That was good, saved him a lot of trouble and brought about a good way to escape. Unknowingly, his brain began formulating ideas again without his consent, to kill and escape from his encirclement. The gory images of stabbing, flesh, blood in his simulated actions..... Honestly, this was going to take a lot of getting used to. But now, it was going to save his life. That wasn''t the priority though as Luca turned to the corpse to do something else. Blood flowed from the head and dyed the ground red. ''Extract ......''. He uttered inwardly as he placed his hand on the exposed palms. The archer was decked out in fire nation uniform. The only parts exposed were his hands and face. The face was bleeding out, so the hands were the next best thing...... A second later, Luca''s right hand was enveloped in the familiar glow of energy. ''Huh?'' Only this time, he felt something was ..... Off. Why did this feel quite different from when he was absorbing Hei Bai''s Chi? The energy feel ..... It was quite different. ¡°Could it be .....¡±. He resisted the urge to open his status panel and continued his actions. It wasn''t long, less than five seconds later, his actions came to a halt. ''Hold on ..... That''s it?'' A trace of incredulity flashed past his face at what just happened. This amount of Chi ....... Why was it so pitiful? This couldn''t be all right? Could it? He quickly opened his stat panel for a moment. ¡ª Chi: 9 ¡ª ...... ¡°...¡± ''You gotta be kidding me''. A fire Nation soldier only granted eight plus. How...... How..... How pitiful. No matter how weak this guy is, he should still be a trained warrior. After all, he didn''t look young. Even if he wasn''t a bender, was his Chi really that low? Was this the standard for regular people? So, did that mean that regular people''s Chi was eight times as much as his initial start? Well, thinking about that, it was kinda depressing. Still, Luca didn''t feel happy. If this was the basis, it meant that he needed to kill eight more people before his regular Chi would be enough to use Density shifting for a second. That was troubling..... ''Focus. No messy thoughts now''. Shifting his thoughts from that topic, he began to search the corpse for valuables. Robbing the dead were actions of bandits ¡­.but his situation called for nothing less. A quiver full of arrows, a bow, two short swords and seven sticks of dynamite. Luca took them all. Then he stood up, was about to mount the Rhino but stopped. Then he turned his gaze to the corpse again, his eyes struggling before coming to a decision. ''Sorry .....''. Chapter 11 Night Of Slaughter Yah! The explosions never ceased as the fire benders continued to set the trees ablaze. ''Nothing yet ...... Garhg! Where the hell are you ¡­''. The Sergeant thought inwardly. He had expected the criminal to be flushed out by now. In the process of destroying vegetation, the distance between each soldier had grown considerably stretched. This was what Luca had been waiting for. The sound of trampling hooves resounded as a Spearman holding a blazing torch on his right hand rushed to set ablaze the next target. Only this time....... Suuuuiii! There was the sound of an object cutting through the air at rapid speed. The slight whistling sound was all the soldier heard before an arrow was embedded into his face similar to his comrade. There was no shriek, no scream. His death was silent without alerting anyone nearby as he let go of the reins, dropped the torch onto the green grass and fell from his mount. The fire spread as the grassland immediately went up in flames. The Komodo Rhino let out a loud roar in panic due to the spreading fire and ran away to avoid getting burned. Smoke rose into the air as the evening wind fueled the flame''s rising. Despite green grasslands being less flammable, the entire area would, sooner or later, burn down if this was kept up. Unfortunately, while the death of the spearman attracted no attention, the running Komodo Rhino without a rider was the exact opposite. Just as others wanted to investigate, another Rhino ran towards their direction. This one, with a rider on board. ¡°I found him ..... Back that way ¡­.¡±. The male was dressed in Fire Nation uniform, with a bow in his grasp and arrows in his quiver. An archer. ¡°What happened¡­". Three riders immediately gathered as the man stopped before them. ¡°He escaped in that direction. One of us was killed ¡­.¡±. Everyone''s faces changed immediately. ¡°What are you waiting for? Let''s get him¡±. This small group had a drill Sergeant who immediately rode towards the other direction. The other two immediately followed. As for the Archer who warned them ...... Anyone looking at him at the moment would see him drawing out three arrows and placing them against his bow. Then ...... Suuuuiii Suuuuiii Suuuuiii ...... One by one in rapid succession, three arrows were fired like spearheads towards the departing backs of the oblivious soldiers. ¡°Ugh!¡± ¡°Argh!¡± ¡°...¡±. Two wore helmets, while the drill Sergeant did not. Hence, Luca who was now dressed in the fire Nation Uniform aimed at different places for the three of them. Disguise: 16 ..... Quite practical. Both privates were shot straight through the heart, piercing through their uniform, while the Drill Sergeant took a blow to the head as he fell to the floor immediately. He died immediately. Unfortunately, the other two managed to let out pained groans. They weren''t loud, but god knows if it would draw attention. Not to mention...... Luca turned his gaze to the burning trees. Whatever advantage the stealth skill could bring to him was limited as the cover of darkness was gone. ''It''s not safe. Gotta act fast ¡­.''. He rode towards the corpses and dismounted, eating to absorb whatever Chi was left in these soldiers before it dissipated. The thought of eight to ten more bodies being needed was kinda demoralizing. If not for the urgent need of Chi, he wouldn''t risk distracting himself like this while in a precarious situation. Thankfully, the plains were vast, while the search team soldiers were too few. In order to cover enough ground, they had spread out significantly, apparently underestimating him. Luca understood why. Throughout his two months on the run, he had never killed a Fire Nation soldier for several reasons. One, because he was always running, preferring to escape than kill. As for the ones that couldn''t be avoided¡­. He knocked them out. It was normal really, as with his ''Secret Mission'', the predecessor never wanted to taint his chances of returning home in the small chance he actually succeeded. Killing fellow soldiers was also a crime. At that time, who knew if Ozai or some other random chump like Zhao would use it against him after he returned. Hence, he intentionally avoided killing. Alongside the nature of his division, skills and the fact that he had been imprisoned for a year, this led to him being taken lightly. A famous saying, ''Pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger''. How accurately it fit his current situation. Placing his hand, the absorption process was repeated for the three fallen men. There was no notification displaying how much, and he didn''t bother to check. He could do so after he got out of here. Hence, Luca who had robbed the uniform of a dead Fire Nation private got back on the Komodo Rhino, searched for spread out soldiers and repeated the same process over and over. In the fire nation, very few knew of his existence. Even fewer knew of his capabilities. Luca had surmised the skills in his panel and alongside the physical attributes. With the brief confrontations he had, he could estimate his attributes in general. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. His physical stats were mediocre, but when paired with the skills ...... It was a typical assassin build. Silent one hit kills were his specialty. Non benders had a significantly lower status and were less noticed. Without proper information, these guys were taken unaware. Time passed. Suuuuiii! Another arrow stabbed through the heart of a private. Coincidentally, this guy was the first Firebender he encountered. They were twenty-one soldiers in this scout team, Six had been sent back to guard the rear. Luca didn''t know how many they were, but so far, his kill count numbered nine. Luca bent down to repeat the process ..... ''Shiver¡­''. It was that cold feeling again. Suuuuiii! He evaded, fast enough to avoid an arrow piercing him through the heart. Unfortunately, he did not escape unscathed. Squelch! ¡°Ugh!¡± The arrow missed his heart and pierced the top of his left shoulder, right through the uniform. ''Well! Looks like they''ve noticed.....''. The destruction of trees was slowing down, and unmounted rhino''s now numbered eleven. Even a fool would know something was up. ¡°Over here¡±. The loud scream resounded as the search party ..... Or what was left of it began to show up. The sound of breathy snorts, roars, and bellows emerged from the distance, as well as the trampling of grass underfoot. Komodo Rhino''s emerged from different directions with soldiers on their backs. Standing beside a corpse, Luca stood motionless as he was surrounded from all sides. One ¡­. Two ¡­. Four ¡­. Six¡­. Six of them. Added with the nine he killed, that made precisely fifteen. ''Just great. I''m surrounded''. Thoughts ran past his mind as he placed his hand on the arrow. Ignoring the pain ...... Squelch. He made a slight hissing sound as the weapon was removed, then dropped to the floor. ¡°You ......¡±. The bearded Sergeant who had led this expedition roared angrily at the sight of the dead body. Then turned to the half kneeling figure dressed in Fire Nation uniform. ¡°Ouch ..... Yep¡­. Me¡­". The helmet on his head was removed, showing the face of a dark-haired teenager with an unruly grin on his face. The eyes of the Sergeant narrowed even further. This darned rebel was wearing the fire nation uniform ........ Stolen from one of his men. Certainly, dead men now ..... Even up to the small bag slung from his shoulder to the waist ¡­. This darn rebel had killed two of their own..... ¡°We underestimated you ¡­.¡±. He uttered gloomily. ¡°... Hehe, you sure did¡±. He said as he got up from his half kneeling posture. ¡°Not just you¡­.¡±. He removed the bag slung across his shoulder ..... Everyone immediately entered combat stances as the Firebenders in the group stretched their arms forward, ready to fire at a moment''s notice. ¡°.... But this guy ¡­". The boy remained unfazed and carried out his actions without an ounce of fear. Holding the bag in his hand, he pointed to the corpse on the floor, his smile ever present. ¡°And the other eight I killed¡­.¡±. ¡°You Damn Bastard!¡± A loud roar emerged from the Sergeant''s mouth. He had thought of taking in this rebel alive perfectly, handing him over to the Captain. After all, it was much better to bring the target in alive than dead. It would also be better to have him captured cleanly. This would display his competence. That however was on the premise that everything had gone well. Those words angered the Sergeant to no end. Nine soldiers had died ....... Just to apprehend one measly seventeen-year-old rebel ..... Not to mention, the guy had received nothing more than an arrow to the chest. He couldn''t let this slide. This kid would come in alive, but alive definitely didn''t mean in one piece. The bearded sergeant raised his hands with fury as his chi began to stir. Flames emerged from his palms as he clenched them into fists and struck forward with remarkable power. A stream of fire shot forward towards Luca with the aim of scorching him. The flames were somewhat restrained, making sure Luca wouldn''t die, but his face would undoubtedly be severely burned. Scarred for life like Zuko. It happened then. The moment he made his move, the bag in Luca''s right hand was thrown out, the smile on his face grew brighter in that split second. Have you ever wondered what happens when someone Firebends at a bag containing a bundle of dynamite at close range? Well....... Boom! A large explosion emerged, sweeping away everything it came in contact with. The Sergeant, his soldiers and the Komodo Rhino''s were sent flying with the explosion. Dust and debris flew in all directions. After the explosion, Silence did not return to the Plains of the Earth kingdom. The heavy breathing of animals resounded in the atmosphere. The dust cleared, revealing the situation of the attacking troop. No one was moving. Save for, of course, the Komodo Rhinos who laid on the floor and let out roars of pain. As cross-breeds between Komodo Dragons and Rhinos, the skin defense of these animals was almost steel like. Hence, even an explosion of that magnitude didn''t kill them. But their situation wasn''t promising. Blood, torn off pieces of meat, scorched skin. The ones still alive tried to stand to their feet. Some failed, others succeeded but couldn''t move afterward. The sound of footsteps emerged from the dust and smoke. It stepped past the injured animals, past the blood and flesh bits scattered across the charred grass ...... All the way into the distance ¡­. Where it stopped and stood beside a body. A corpse? Nah, this guy wasn''t dead yet. But all the pain he was going through would make him wish otherwise. Luca stood before the bearded sergeant. Well, that wasn''t appropriate anymore because he no longer had a beard ..... Or hair on his head ¡­. Or much of a face for that matter. Was this even the bearded sergeant? He could only judge from the body frame. His flesh was charred, his inner teeth were revealed, and he had one arm gone from the shoulder down and the other completely burned. The legs weren''t in good condition either. If not for the rising and falling of his chest, Luca wouldn''t even know he was alive. ¡°I don''t know if you can hear me¡±. That was to be decided. After all, he wasn''t sure whether his ears would still be working well after that. ¡°Perhaps you can, perhaps you can''t¡±. ¡°Doesn''t matter anyway ¡­.¡±. ¡°.... Just know that ¡­ Um ¡­. this isn''t personal. I just ¡­. You won''t be the only one ¡­.¡±. His voice came to a halt. ¡°You know what ¡­.¡±. Squelch! A blade pierced right through his skull. ¡°.... Never mind". ''Note to self, pretending to be badass is a skill I currently don''t possess''. Luca thought inwardly. The sick lines he was expecting to spit out never even came to the tip of his tongue. All he had done was prolong a man''s suffering for a few extra seconds. It wasn''t that easy to look and sound as cool as your favorite characters on TV. Honestly, his earlier display was embarrassing. ''Good thing nobody saw that''. He thought again with narrowed eyes. ''...... and no one will ever know''. Saying this, he placed his hand on the corpse and did what was needed. The same thing, the same process ...... After a while, it stopped. Luca''s eyes lit up. ''It''s more ¡­.''. Following which, he turned his gaze to search for other corpses. Great, everything else was blown up. Unless he wanted to extract Chi from an arm ¡­. A torso ¡­. Half a head ¡­ You know what. Never mind. He turned his gaze to the animals¡­. Following which, he ignored them. It was kinda cruel to leave them like this, perhaps he could even extract some Chi from them. But he had no time. He hadn''t forgotten that dozens of search parties were on their way. He just dealt with this. At the moment, he felt glad that he had gotten density shifting. If not, his life would have probably ended tonight. Finding a Komodo Rhino, he got on and immediately began riding away. His destiny..... He had no idea. A reincarnated soul sped off on a mount into the night on the Earth kingdom Grasslands. And flying above in the skies, was an Eagle Hawk following his movements. Chapter 12 Zuko The moon fell, and the sun rose ...... The wind blew through the earth kingdom plains around the area of Senlin Village. Not long ago, the forest a great distance away from the small town had been burnt to the ground. And now, just last night, smoke once again rose to the skies, marking the possible arrival of what this simple farming village was now most afraid of. Fire Nation. They knew not what happened, but it was enough to cause great concern. As for the chance of it being something else? The loud explosion that occurred said otherwise. ''Those savages are back again ...... I just don''t know what they''re up to ¡­.''. An elderly man thought to himself at the sight of smoke. Perhaps another part of the forest would be destroyed again. Morning had risen across the grasslands, but all wasn''t peaceful. A new part of the earth kingdom was scorched with fire across the grounds, indicating the battle that ensued in this area. Thud! Thud! Thud! The sound of footsteps fell clearly as a short, fat man appeared with an expressionless face. His gaze swept across the damaged lands, half burned with small patches of preserved grass. Fortunately, green grasslands weren''t flammable. Hence the fiery destruction didn''t spread. ¡°..... How many dead?¡± Captain Han uttered in a low tone. ¡°..... That ¡­.¡±. Standing behind him, the lieutenant hesitated to speak. He couldn''t see Han''s face, but after following him for several years, he was knowledgeable enough to estimate his mood. Gloomy, cold, grim ..... Furious. The nearby soldiers stiffened in place, some not daring to breathe too loudly. ¡°Did you not hear me, lieutenant?¡± His cold voice came again as he turned his head to reveal his side profile. Although Han was short and fat, that didn''t make him less intimidating. In the Fire Nation army, very few could make it to the level of a captain without some form of competence. Han wasn''t an exception, and anyone who dared to underestimate him due to his short height and round frame was in for a bitter lesson. ¡°Fifteen ..... Sir¡±. The lieutenant replied. He spoke with a calm tone and a clear voice. After all, this failure had nothing to do with him. ¡°How many are in the team?¡± ¡°Twenty one ¡­.¡±. ¡°How many survived?¡± ¡°Six sir ¡­". ¡°Why?¡± ¡°.... Because ..... they were ordered to guard the rear¡­". For this point, even the lieutenant felt slightly speechless. Everyone had died except the ones who didn''t participate. Didn''t that mean that the entire team would disappear if they were there? ¡°..¡± silence. No one uttered a word as Captain Han continued to peer into the distance with cold eyes. ¡°..... We underestimated him¡±. The heavy atmosphere dissolved slightly. This was the truth. An eighteen-year-old managing to wipe out a Fire Army search party, Han was impressed. Especially when the rebel in question was a non bender¡­. He resisted the urge to release a sigh. Even after a year of imprisonment, this kid still had such a sharp edge. ¡°I agree sir¡±. The Lieutenant spoke up at that moment. ¡°We''ve had our specialists take a look at the corpses. The bodies can be split into two groups depending on the way they died¡±. He uttered while coming closer. ¡°The first were those left with a full corpse¡±. ¡°Full corpse?¡± ¡°Yes sir. The results state that they were killed by sharp weapons in a single attack. The wounds suggest the use of arrows to the head and heart, with one exception being a private pierced through the head with a spear¡±. ''Shiver .....''. All those listening to the reports couldn''t help but shiver subconsciously. A spear straight to the head? How cruel. ¡°Nine of them, no follow-up attacks, all one hits at vitals leading to death. I estimate that the soldiers were caught unaware, not even seeing their enemy until it was too late¡±. ''An assassin .....''. Han didn''t need his soldier to finish. He understood perfectly what he meant by replaying this data. ''Quite in line with the image of those from the Assassination and intelligence department''. ''Nine bodies, all one hit kills, nine ambushes. According to the lieutenant, this means he was able to go unnoticed, killing nine out of fifteen people before anyone realized something was wrong¡­ Impressive''. Han admitted inwardly. For an eighteen-year-old, this was already a very impressive feat. There wasn''t even any need for a second strike. Truly outstanding capabilities. Such a useful soldier, if used strategically, could bring about great results in the war. A useful tool that could have been of great help to his nation was now against them and being hunted ..... What a waste. ¡°.... The others?¡± Han asked apathetically. Since he managed to only kill nine this way, then that means he was discovered. There were still six enemies left, so how did this boy manage to do it? Did he showcase great combat talent? Killing everyone, even the Sergeant, and managed to escape with heavy injuries? If that were the case, then this criminal was far too dangerous. The first thing he would do would be to write a full report to the Fire Lord, asking those bastards guarding at Capital City Prison to be lashed for their incompetence. A criminal of such level was actually allowed to escape from under their noses ..... Of course, if he fought his way out, then he would definitely not make it unscathed. Exchanging injuries for kills, getting burnt by flames, pierced by weapons ¡­. Perhaps he was bleeding out somewhere as they speak. ¡°I was getting to that, sir ...... The others ¡­. Couldn''t really be identified¡±. ¡°Huh?¡± Han uttered in confusion. ¡°.... That ¡­ We couldn''t identify them because ¡­. We found nothing that could indicate so. Like I said, one half had a full corpse ¡­. The others, had no corpse at all¡±. ¡°No corpse?¡± ¡°No sir. Just body parts, charred body parts. Only the body of the Sergeant could be found, but ....... With his face gone, even his body was difficult to identify¡±. ¡°...¡±. Seeing the captain unresponsive, the Sergeant continued. ¡°There was an explosion, a big one, suggested by those still alive¡±. Han nodded. He already knew this, after all, he was standing right next to the center of the explosion point. This wasn''t something caused by Firebending. His many years of experience let him know that. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°I surmise that the remaining six were lured into a trap. And were blown up at the center of the explosion. Black powder, blasting jelly, dynamite perhaps. Only the Sergeant had a corpse, with a knife stab to the head finishing him off¡±. The lieutenant finished his report, with a grim face. The nearby soldiers had similar expressions as well. A team of Fire Nation soldiers with a sergeant, two drill sergeants and more than a dozen privates were easily wiped out. ¡°Is there any report on his possible status?¡± ¡°None sir. We have no idea if he''s heavily injured or unscathed. All we found are tracks leading southeast. We sent other search parties in his direction, but we won''t get any news for the time being......¡±. His words not only did not ease Han''s bad mood but only fueled it. ¡°Dozens of search parties were released to hunt down a single rebel¡±. The Captain turned around, looking towards the soldiers and swept his eyes across the lot of them. ¡°.... Why were the others so late to respond?¡± ¡°.... Sir ¡­. The distance between this unit and the others were stretched due to a large amount of ground to cover. Delayed response is inevitable¡±. ¡°I have been informed that a village exists not far from here, does it not?¡± ¡°.... Yes sir ¡­". ¡°Then why did the soldiers stationed there not respond?¡± ¡°... Sir ¡­. There were no soldiers stationed there¡±. Wow, it''s hot out here. Isn''t it hot out here ¡­. The lieutenant felt sweat accumulating on his body. ¡°Why?¡± The question was asked in a cold, elongated tone. ¡°The town is ...... nothing more than a minor farming settlement. It holds no strategical advantage, hence .....¡±. At this point, even the lieutenant began to chose his words prudently. ¡°..... Placing troops there was a waste of manpower¡±. Things were coming back to him without his permission. Back then, he was the one who gave the order to leave the city alone. He didn''t think much then. Who would have thought that his decision would soon come back to bite him in the ass. His confirmation made his Captain''s face darken even more. ''Things aren''t going as planned''. Han thought with an ugly expression. ¡°Have you interrogated the villagers?¡± ¡°Sir yes sir. I''ve deployed soldiers to do so as we speak¡±. ¡°..... Good¡±. Despite saying this, his expression didn''t ease in the slightest. ¡°Once this is over, I will file a report concerning your dereliction of duty to Fire Nation command¡±. The Lieutenant''s face paled. He wanted to plead, but the fat man interrupted before he even had the chance to speak. ¡°Send Messenger hawks to the outpost in that direction. Tell them to keep an eye out for the possible appearance of the rebel¡­.¡± Han uttered while turning towards his ride. The area within two thousand three hundred kilometers were the colonial lands captured within Earth King territory. This total area consisted of many cities and villages in the Northwestern and Southwestern parts of the earth kingdom. The mountain forest around Senlin Village was in the far ends of the southwestern areas of the earth kingdom. But Luca was riding east. As far as Captain Han knew, the farthest Fire Nation Outpost in that direction was at a mining village where all the earth benders had been arrested. (Book 1 EP 6: Imprisoned. Where Katara, Aang and the Sokka met Haru and saved his father and the rest of the earthbenders from the prison oil rig. At this point in time, Aang, Sokka and Katara should be there doing just that. That''s what I deduced after looking at the Map and judging the timeframe) and taken to a Metal Prison Rig on the Mo Ce Sea. The fire nation''s sphere of influence only slightly extended beyond that reach. As after there was the unconquered city Omashu. (It hasn''t been conquered yet) If Luca escaped past that, then the difficulty of capturing him would increase by several folds. The area starting From Omashu was still Earth Kingdom territory with the city standing as a stumbling block to the advances of the fire Nation. Chasing past that point would be almost impossible. Han would immediately be tied down as the rebel had escaped his influence range. It was impossible to stray that far from his post to apprehend him. If something unfortunate happened while he was away, the consequences would be too much to bear. Thinking of this, Han''s face grew more gloomy. ¡°Also. ¡­.¡±. He uttered when he sat of the Komodo Rhino. ¡°After the interrogation is over, destroy the town¡±. The lieutenant was right, this small farming settlement held no significance to both the fire nation and the earth kingdom. The Lieutenant''s actions weren''t wrong. This could only be regarded as misfortune falling from the sky. Hence, Han in his terribly mood saw no reason for this useless city to exist anymore. Under regular circumstances, he wouldn''t care. But today was not one of those days. ¡°Hyah!¡± Following which the man flicked the reins and the mount under his butt shot forward. ......... Meanwhile, later ........ Caw! A peal call resounded through the skies as a large aerial creature could be seen flying through the skies. Its vision constantly scanning through the vast land below it with sharp eyes as it searched for its target. Unlike the earlier area that was a grassy plain with sparse trees, this part of the southern earth kingdom looked more like a forest. The land below was covered with numerous trees, plants, hills, and all sorts of vegetation. Even with its extraordinary sharp vision, locating a target within these parts would prove quite difficult and time-consuming. However, that depended on what exactly it was looking for. The Eagle Hawk flew out of the forest area towards the Earth Kingdom Coast and flew closer to the earth. As one of the few animals in the Avatar world with near human intelligence, it knew exactly what to look for. And soon enough, it found it. .......... Earth Kingdom Coast ...... On the waters of the Mo Ce Sea, a lone Fire Nation cruiser could be seen sailing on the waters. From Earth Kingdom to Fire Nation, anyone with a little bit of knowledge would instantly recognize, much to their puzzlement that this was an outdated version of the Fire Nation warships from the early days of the hundred-year war. One with no special modifications for defense, attack or luxury whatsoever. It would also be more puzzling to imagine that the owner of this ancient means of transportation was the son of someone with extremely high status. "...... No, uncle, we''re not stopping''. Inside an inner room, a young teenage voice answered with a firm tone. ¡°But Prince Zuko, those parts of the earth kingdom are one of the best to find natural springs. Perfect for relaxation purposes¡­". An older, gentler, more jolly voice responded to Zuko''s blunt refusal. Iroh''s eyes lit up as he reminisced with a look of enjoyment. ¡°.... This is not a vacation, uncle, and I am not stopping to relax while the avatar is still out there¡±. The reply came immediately. The banished prince was particularly adamant as he went through his firebending forms. ¡°Sigh! My Nephew, when will you learn to appreciate the good things in life? These springs aren''t something you can enjoy every day. I''ve only been here twice before, and that was during my time as general on the earth kingdom conquest¡±. ¡°Hah!¡± Zuko roared as he shot out a plum of fire. ¡°Ha¡­ Ha¡­.¡±. Heavy breathing resounded as his chest rose and fell. ¡°I''ll consider such trivialities after I regain my honor, uncle¡±. He couldn''t stop for breaks, not now. The existence of the Avatar had been made known to that blasted Zhao. Now he was also on the hunt for the Avatar and soon, the news would spread far and wide. By then, every Firebender would be searching for him. He couldn''t let that happen, he couldn''t let anyone get to him first before he did. Hence, stopping was out of the question. ¡°Until that day comes, I won''t relax¡±. Seeing Zuko remain adamant, Iroh shook his head. ¡°We have been on the Avatar''s trail since your ruckus at Kyoshi Island. The men manning the ship aren''t machines, Zuko. Even this ship needs to take a break, much more the people who run it. Unless you want another breakdown like last time¡±. His words made Zuko pause, followed by a slight groan. After Losing Aang at the South Pole, Zuko had driven his crew tirelessly in a relentless pursuit. His actions, paired with the damages Aang caused during the battle, led to the old battle cruiser breaking down on them. So much so that he had to take the ship to Ketu Harbor for repairs where he encountered Commander Zhao. Iroh''s words were reminding him. Unless he wanted the ship to break down again, he needed to stop and rest every once in a while. ¡°Ughhh!¡± He let out a begrudging moan. ¡°Fine, we''ll stop. But not for too long¡±. ¡°Excellent choice prince Zuko. You will not ¡­.¡±. Iroh''s face blossomed with a smile. However, his words were interrupted by a rapidly approaching soldier. ¡°Sir¡­. My prince .....¡±. ¡°What?¡± Seeing the man rush in, Zuko frowned and stopped his training. ¡°What''s the matter? Has the Avatar been spotted?¡± ¡°No sir, but something else is perched on the tower of the ship. You need to see it¡±. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± The two men exclaimed in confusion. Five minutes later, Zuko with his upper body bare and Iroh appeared at the deck. ¡°Where is this thing you speak of?¡± He asked, and the soldier pointed upward. ¡°Up there¡±. The two men turned their gazes in that direction. On the tower mast of the ship, a large bird decorated with the fire nation crest could be seen staring at them below. Chapter 13 Spirit Chi Southwestern Earth Kingdom Several hours later the same day. ¡°...¡±. Within the forests of the earth kingdom ..... Snap! The distinct snap, crack and popping sounds linked to the burning of wood could be heard resounding within a small cave. The flames lit up the dark environment and provided warmth to those who may need it on this cold evening. Whoosh! Feeling the night wind blowing into the cave, the elongated shadow of a human silhouette could be seen turning his head in its direction. Luca took a look towards the entrance of the cave. It was almost twenty-four hours since his last encounter with the Fire Nation. Unlike the previous night, the moon hid her face from this part of the world making the surrounding areas for miles fall into the cover of darkness. The area where he resided now was a cave on a large cliff wall with lush, tall green trees from all sides. Outside the cave laid the Komodo Rhino that usually stood more than half the height of an adult male. It''s occasional bellows from time to time showed that, just like him, it wasn''t asleep. Beyond that was the sound of chirping crickets and woodland animals scurrying around their natural habitat. The sound of nature ¡­ Peaceful and serene. Sitting in his position, Luca sat crossed legged with his eyes closed as complex emotions ran through his heart and mind. The sitting posture wasn''t intentional. More like an instinctive action done on reflex. The predecessor could be blamed for this. But that didn''t matter. The scenes of what he had done, the murder, the killing ..... All of it had replayed in his mind earlier on when he had taken the time to rest. Just like before, he felt nothing. Even after the fight was over, and he had calmed down from running, all the regret, negative emotion or nausea that was usually described in movies and novels after the first kill remained at bay. It was a bit unsettling, really. Of course, it might still be on its way, just hadn''t hit yet. Don''t ask why he came to such a conclusion, after all, the life memories that were supposed to come instantly delayed inexplicably for several hours. Who knew if this would be similar. After escaping from the scorched forest, Luca rode east on the Komodo Rhino through the vast plains without stopping. With the moonlight as a guide, he worried not about the darkness and travelled hundreds of miles throughout the night, all the way to the next morning. He had no idea where he was going, but after merging with memories, he knew which direction not to go to. The way back West would be towards the western Mo Ce Sea. Crossing that sea would lead to the Fire Nation. North wasn''t an option either. He would have to go through a large area of colonial territory before he managed to escape the land controlled by the Fire Nation. There would be scouts everywhere looking for him, and randomly bumping into enemy troops wasn''t out of the question. South would require crossing the Mo Ce Sea and transversing hundreds of miles of water. From his memories, the closest thing he could get to solid ground after that was Whale tail island. Assuming, of course, he could get there without alarming patrolling Fire Nation ships. After that would be the southern air temple, adjusting his direction going southeast would lead to the Southern Water tribe. The home of Sokka and Katara. What was he going in that direction to do? That left the only possible direction. East. Although still in Fire Nation colonial territory, it was easier to transverse through to Omashu. Only after he got that far could he have a preliminary sense of freedom. So, with only this idea, Luca rode Eastward from night till the afternoon of the following day. After making camp and resting for some time, he destroyed all traces of his presence and continued to ride. Another day passed. In the afternoon of the second day, Luca found this cave and decided to make camp here till tomorrow. This was due to a combination of several factors. One, he was physically and mentally tired from the long escape. Two, the Komodo Rhino was already displaying similar fatigue after such an intensive journey. Three ..... Well this couldn''t be considered much of a reason. More of a slight coincidence that brought the above reasons together. While riding through the dense forests ..... The sound of a bellow fell into his ears. It was faint, very faint. If not for the rather quiet area, perhaps he wouldn''t have heard it at all. It sounded like the mooing of a cow, or a bull, buffalo, yak or ¡­ ¡­. A Bison. Perhaps for natives, the sight of something white in the shape of an animal flying in the sky and disappearing into the clouds could be misjudged as a hallucination or perhaps mistaking a cloud for something else. Unless, of course, you knew that the Avatar had returned and was riding a flying bison. Yep. Seeing the very small figure of Appa disappearing into the clouds, Luca was awakened from his state of mind, realizing that he had been traveling nonstop for almost two days. For a moment, he wondered if he should try screaming to them. Perhaps they would hear him and come down to investigate what was calling. As for what would happen after ¡­. Well, he didn''t know. Even if they heard him, came down, and he met them, he didn''t know what exactly he wanted to say to them. Accompany them on their journey? In the end, they never reappeared from the vast sea of clouds. Even if he had a chance, he couldn''t grasp it. According to what he remembered from the Avatar timeline, they should be coming from Haru''s Mining village after Katara helped liberate the earthbenders from the prison rig. Then they should be on their way to Senlin Village for the Winter Solstice episode. Luca didn''t know if his arrival and would change anything. If there was going to be any butterfly effect due to his actions. ''..... Everything should probably stay the same ¡­.''. He thought to himself, a little unsure. If the Fire Nation followed him, then everything should be fine. But if they stayed in the forest around Senlin Village, then Aang and the gang would be discovered the moment they tried to land to investigate the scorched territory. If that were the case, they would probably skip the village itself and continue on their journey if fire nation was still in the area. But ..... That action alone could lead to all sorts of problems. At that point in time, deciding he had run far enough, he chose to spend the night here to address certain key issues. One, where exactly was he going. Two, what exactly was he going there to do. Three, what was his ultimate goal here and four¡­. The steps to achieve it. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Five¡­. Any other details he forgot, didn''t take into account for, or needed to ponder over to achieve the above four. Six..... Before, long-term goals were short-term goals¡­. And seven..... ¡°Grrrrrrr!¡± That was the sound of his belly protesting greatly. Luca opened his eyes at the discomfort of his stomach. That''s right, he hadn''t eaten anything solid for the past two days. The meal elder Wu brought to him back in the village couldn''t be eaten before Hei Bai appeared. All that had gone into his stomach was some fruits in the wild he had taken to maintain bare sustenance. As for how he knew they weren''t poisonous? Of course, it was due to his trusty taste tester, the Komodo Rhino he rode on. ''So this is what life on the run is like''. His mind drifted to the criminals back on earth. ''¡­. regardless, I need to get to a city or village soon. Only way to get real food¡­''. He thought inwardly while appeasing his protesting belly. The number three question was simple. His ultimate goal had never changed and probably will never change until Ozai is six feet under the grave, Azula is chained in a mental hospital and the Fire Nation is no longer breathing down his neck. Survive. As for how he was going to do that ..... ''Open stat panel''. Series of letters and numbers appeared on his retina. Name: Luca Race: Fire Nation ....... Attributes: Strength 10, Dexterity 9 Constitution 11, Chi 223, Perception 14, Spirit Chi: 1,423 Fatigue: Fatigue 4/100 Alignment: Lawful Evil Personal Perks: Density Shifting, Permanent Chi Absorption, Chi Manipulation: 186, Mastered abilities: Stealth: 16, Blademanship: 16, Hand To Hand Combat: 13, Poison Mastery: 17, Disguise:16, Tool Creation: 15, Marksmanship: 16, Lock picking: 15, Earth Kingdom Culture: 16, Interrogation: 17, Battle Instinct: 14, Evasion and Escape: 16, Regeneration: 10 Assignable Achievement Points (AP): ........ Status: Otherworlder/ Rebel (spy)(Fugitive on the run) ....... Sitting cross-legged, Luca took out the time to examine the changes in his stat panel. First thing first from the attributes. He turned his attention to something he had noticed earlier on but failed to pay full attention to back at the scorched forest. Chi: 223, Spirit Chi 1,423 ..... Two Chi reserves. For this, Luca was silent for a while. He had two different Chi reserves...... But ¡­. But how? ''Spirit Chi .....''. The answer was obvious. He realized something the moment he absorbed the chi from the first dead Fire Nation soldier that ..... In a rather odd way, it was different from Hei Bai''s. With his lacking knowledge on things touching the spirit realm, he couldn''t understand what this difference was. And honestly, he didn''t need to at the moment. Nonetheless his status panel clearly stated that he had two different Chi reserves within his body. Not only did it state it, he himself could feel it. The feeling of energy swimming through the chi pathways in his body..... He could feel it right at this moment. It was light, free flowing, like a running stream connected to every part of his being. Truly marvelous. If he had to take a wild guess, that was probably the regular Chi he had obtained from draining the corpses of Fire Nation soldiers. 223. Compared to his original mediocre 1, it was simply a full world of difference. The vast majority of this however wasn''t gained from the nine initial corpses but contributed by the single lone bearded Sergeant who was almost burnt to a crisp. The only bender he had confronted. This confirmed another one of his suspicions. Benders had much larger amounts of Chi than ordinary people. He never doubted this notion, he just didn''t realize how much. For each random private, the amount should be roughly the same. Perhaps varying by one or two more points of Chi in a positive or negative line. Added with his original chi, the highest estimation wouldn''t exceed a hundred for the first nine. But he had two hundred and twenty-three points. It meant that at least a hundred and twenty-three points was given by one Firebender. The disparity was even larger than the difference between him and common people. Of course at the moment, it mattered little. His total Chi wasn''t enough to use his signature density shifting for yo to three seconds. You know, this was way more than a firebending Lieutenant who probably used his bending as his main source of attack. Against an enemy of equal footing, he could most likely play a back and forth battle for a minute or more in an Agni Kai. Yet, that alone couldn''t last him for three seconds. He still had a long way to go, which brought his attention to the second source of Chi he has. Spirit Chi ¡­. Unlike his normal chi reserves, this one didn''t flow through his body like a running stream. No, instead he could feel the vast amount situated straight at the bottom of his abdominal area, remaining unmovable. It wasn''t light and free flowing, but felt rather heavy, thicker, stronger, somewhat purer if he had to describe it. Not like a rushing river but a stagnant lake. It formed a slight barrier, isolating itself from the rest of the energy flowing throughout his body, almost giving him the feeling that it wanted not to be tainted by the rest. The feeling it gave off was fundamentally different as well. Honestly, the boy didn''t know what exactly to make of this. Why were the two separated? With no clear answer, he turned to the panel and focused on the Spirit Chi column, hoping that it would give him some sort of explanation to know what exactly he was working with here. This panel wasn''t sentient, and hence he could only hope that there would be some form of explanation due to the fact that it was a new attribute. To his relief, there was. ¡ª Spirit Chi: 1423 They are both energy forces of nature but do not confuse them to be completely the same. As while, they may have similar roles and can be used interchangeably, one''s power, potential, and usefulness far surpasses the other. Humans and spirits are two different entities. The same way their physiology, nature, spiritual resonance and so on have no resemblance, the Chi their bodies produce are also different. Spirit creatures are immortal precisely due to their body nature and the nature of Chi they possess. The best regular Chi can do is to bend the elements taught to them by the Lion Turtles and wield said element to the very limit possible. It has little to no effect on the body itself. Spirit Chi on the other hand, transcends beyond bending, and can be applied to create all new forms of marvelous abilities. The questions ¡°what¡± and ¡°how¡± to create these new varieties are entirely your problem to figure out - - However, do not get carried away. While this may be a possible boon and a pathway with greater potential and opportunities, its nature has not changed. Spirit Chi does not belong to humans and cannot be produced by them. You possess it through theft, yet you are not a spirit and hence, your current body is no exception. Therefore, your spirit Chi reserves are basically a tank that cannot be refilled normally¡ª ...... A famous saying. Taken to heaven only to fall into hell. This was Luca''s mood at the moment. The description of Spirit Chi, although very vague was enough to let his heart beat tremendously. Far greater power and potential? Stronger than regular Chi? He already suspected that, but seeing it with his own eyes was enough to let him know he had hit the jackpot. Regular Chi could be used to bend the elements. However, before the Lion turtles, humans were completely powerless. It was the spirits that bestowed the ability of bending upon the Four nations. They practically were the forefathers, ancestors, primogenitors of elemental bending itself. If that weren''t the case, Humans would be defenceless against spirits during the era of Avatar Wan and would probably still be in the same state now. But apart from improving bending, pushing it to greater heights, it could be said that nothing much had improved on the art itself. Luca had always wondered why the energy forces in the Naruto world and Avatar world were similar, but one had greater uses. In Naruto, Chakra could be used to climb trees, walk on water, heal and create all forms of marvelous ninjutsu that had nothing to do with the elements. While although the Avatar universe was powerful, its versatility was severely lacking. Everything the latter had, the former had as well while there were things the former had that the latter was still lacking despite the passage of nineteen thousand years. Forget about the Kekkei Genkai, Six path Ninja Tools, time and space ninjutsu and tailed beasts. Even the random three body technique placed here could make a great difference. If it could be used, the natives would probably regard it as some kind of heavenly treasure. Humans here hadn''t mastered the use of illusions. A skilled Jonin from the Naruto world would basically be able to walk sideways unless he came across the avatar. Why was this? Because humans, even up till the point of the legend of Korra were still standing on the foundation the Lion turtles had laid out for them. It wasn''t that they didn''t want to make greater progress, it was because they couldn''t. The Chi in their bodies weren''t capable of doing more. The Lion turtles hadn''t gone or thought that far ahead. Spirits on the other hand? Possession, immortality, invisibility, intangibility, shape shifting, transportation through dimensions..... And so much more. Chapter 14 Captured Possession, immortality, invisibility, intangibility, shape-shifting, transportation through dimensions..... And so much more. Luca had seen it himself. Hei Bai, a panda spirit could change form to a giant monster with increased physical prowess. He could instantaneously move from one place to another in a split second quite similar to the body flicker technique and could release a powerful sonic scream. Why couldn''t humans do anything close? Because their Chi wasn''t designed to do so? Unless the Lion turtles came again to impart something that didn''t belong to them. Humans naturally couldn''t bend. So the Lion turtles had to tweak it to fit their energy type. ''Well .....''. Of course, all these thoughts were his mere assumptions. Although he believed they were well-founded and perhaps carried a large amount of truth within them, it was ultimately still an assumption. As for how and why he could come to such conclusions? All these questions were things fans would use to compare the two worlds and come out at the end of the debate that the Ninja world was stronger than the Avatar world. Back in his previous life, he was one of those netizens who had a lot of spare time to argue on threads and forums on such topics heatedly. Ahem! If there was another hidden benefit to transversing other than plot knowledge and past life knowledge, then it was an overly active imagination gained when the above two were combined. Numerous possibilities, assumptions, and ideas could be drawn easily for a better advantage. And what his status panel was displaying literally screamed opportunity. Unfortunately..... ''You''ve gotta be kidding me''. The information was clear enough to understand. This special Chi was gained and produced by spirits. No normal human should even be able to gain access to what was within him currently. There were probably only two exceptions. One! The Avatar. And Two, Himself. But both named exceptions had ¡­. problems. Just like any regular human, Spirit Chi didn''t belong to the Avatar, nor could it be produced by him/her. That was what Raava was for. Among other uses, Raava supplied the Avatar with endless cosmic Chi surpassing what anyone else could harness. She held the spirit Chi for the Avatar as well as the rest of the elements. Unless the Avatar state was activated, no Avatar could gain access to Spirit Chi in their base form. Plus, the Avatar state was probably regarded as an ultimate move, the last trump card for each reincarnation cycle to defeat whatever difficulties they faced. After gaining mastery of four elements, there were rarely any enemies that needed the use of the trump card. Some Avatars most likely wouldn''t use it at all in a span of years. If Luca had to sum it up, it was rarely used for experimentation as they were already powerful enough. Anything extra was unnecessary. This was their disadvantage. Then there was the second exception. Luca. Unlike the Avatar, he could access this new energy source in his base form and could control it without the need for external help (Raava) Well, he had no advanced form to begin with. But his disadvantage was stated in the system panel. Unlike the Avatar, he had no Raava and hence, no one to provide him an endless supply of Spirit Chi. One couldn''t use it because it was inconvenient, had lacking creativity and imagination, and ultimately didn''t need it. The other couldn''t because his reserve was too little. If he remembered clearly, the total amount of Spirit Chi he had extracted from Hei Bai should be close to 1,800. With his own mediocre chi reserves, the use of Density Shifting was taken from his Spirit Chi. He hadn''t used it for more than Five seconds Now, he barely had over 1400. Two days had passed, yet it showed no signs of increasing. With the outrageous usage requirements of Density Shifting, his current social predicament as well as the pitiful normal chi reserves, there was no doubt this number would soon be exhausted if he ran into a few more life-threatening situations. What the hell? It was fine that the number didn''t grow, why was it reducing with each use? There was no Chi regeneration stat as well either. The message ended there. However, Luca didn''t want to believe it. And so, he reread the notification on the panel over and overlooking for a loophole. A possible way around his current situation. If Spirit Chi was as miraculous as he imagined, then what he could gain from it would increase his strength by a large portion. Now he desperately wished his status panel was a gaming system. At this moment, a quest should jump out of nowhere, telling him to achieve some sort of hard, dangerous, perhaps nearly impossible task with extremely strict completion conditions. The penalty would be death and the reward being a spirit Chi regeneration stat. Which he would ponder over, weigh the pros and cons, come to the conclusion that there was a 99% chance he would lose his life and ultimately still end up accepting the task anyway. Unfortunately, this wasn''t one of those. Despite closing and reopening it three times over, he still failed to find anything else. There was no continuation. Unless he turned back to confront Hei Bai, his situation was just as the panel described. A tank that couldn''t be refilled. After a while of staring at the panel with a depressed face, he could only move past the Chi stat and take a look at the other changes. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The Fatigue value 6/100 was easy to understand. Basically, how exhausted he was at the moment. As for why there was six there instead of Zero, he could only attribute it to hunger. Alignment¡­. Lawful Evil. It was strange before, but now that he knew where this body originated from, it wasn''t surprising. Nevertheless, that didn''t mean it sit well with him. After playing DND for years ¡­. (For those who don''t understand. Dungeons and Dragons) He had seen enough to understand what each alignment represented. Still, the status panel displayed what it displayed, and he currently knew no way to change it. Everything else was still the same, save for one new addition. Regeneration: 10 Under his mastered skill list, a new stat had appeared. One he honestly had never expected to receive ever since his Wish Perk denied him before coming to this world. Similar to the Spirit Chi stat, this new attribute also opened up to give an explanation. ¡ª Regeneration: 10 (Passive) Consumes Chi to heal wounds and injuries. Your flesh and blood will regenerate from inflictions without your consent. Due to the low skill level, the effect is greatly limited. - Do not expect to regenerate missing limbs. Do not expect to heal from attacks to the vitals. Do not expect to heal instantly. Do not expect to feel no pain. Do not expect to still be able to move after being heavily injured. The severity of the injury will determine how long it will take to heal as well as his much Chi will be consumed - - Consumes Spirit Chi and Spirit Chi only. Do not expect to replace it with a lesser substitute - ........ ¡°...¡±. He should be happy. Although it was far from what he hoped for, it was free and better than nothing. But the second to last part ruined that happiness by half. Consumes Spirit Chi? He didn''t have that much of it left. And why did the last part feel like it seemed to see through his future thoughts and was mocking him in advance? Was this panel sentient or not? Well, it didn''t matter. It''s not like it was going to answer him anyway. (Rest assured, the Panel will not develop a system AI. Author''s promise) With the cumbersome Fire Nation uniform taken off and tossed into a ditch at some point during his journey, Luca touched the area where he was recently pierced by an arrow. Smooth, just like always. There wasn''t even a light scar to indicate. He had noticed when the injury healed on its own. He had also noticed that the horrific scars the predecessor suffered while imprisoned, had been removed. That about summed up all the charges in the stat panel. Now that that was over and done with, Luca began to contemplate his next course of action. The Fire Nation shouldn''t bother him in a very short while. But they would be coming for him without a doubt. Perhaps the outposts East would be informed to keep an eye out for him. He doubted he was faster than a messenger hawk. Escaping from the plains, he had taken only three things with him. The Komodo Rhino, A long sword, two short swords. That was about it. Blademanship was a skill he had mastered after studying under Master Piandao. Technically, he could use a large variety of bladed weapons. Long swords, broadswords, and short swords were among the list. However, Luca intended to use the dual short swords as his main weapon. The long sword would be sold for some money at any town or village he came across. That money in turn would be used to purchase some actual food and possibly a map. The sword was surprisingly one of fine quality. From his own deductions, it would sell for a good price of about thirty silver coins. That amount could vary depending on the buyer, but it would be enough to get a map, food and some new clothes. It wouldn''t be enough to afford an Ostrich Horse mount, though. After all, the Komodo Rhino was too conspicuous. Ditching it was practically a certainty. It all depends on when. The evening wind blew once again into the small cave. With his brows deeply knitted, Luca took another look to the dark skies outside the cave entrance. ''Sleep tonight''. He thought to himself. ''Tomorrow will be another day to fight for survival''. So he said as he prepared to go to sleep and get some shut-eye. ...... Or not. Tonight was quiet ..... Normal at first, but eventually, it grew too quiet. Like a conditioned reflex, Luca opened his eyes and sat up from his sleeping posture. He didn''t know how long he had been asleep but judging from the fire that had already burned out, a considerable time had elapsed. Ignoring that, his ears focused into the dense darkness that was the evening forest. All noise was gone. The woodland sounds that took place every now and then in the peaceful evening had vanished into thin air. Turns out, a place being too quiet was actually a thing. That alone wouldn''t be enough to spook him. But what followed did. Snap! The sound of a twig breaking. Snap! And another. Snap! And another. No animal would roam the forest at this time of night except carnivores. And no carnivore would make such blatant noise, practically announcing their presence. Not to mention, the breaking stick noises wasn''t a one-time thing, but occurred constantly. That meant only one thing. Humans. Then it appeared. Inside the dark forest, small flames could be seen appearing in the distance. Torches. ''Oh shit!''. It started with one, then another ¡­. And another. One by one, the dark forest was lit up as human figures began to enclose towards him from all directions. Luca stood at the entrance of the cave and watched flatly, a long sword within his possession and two short swords placed by the side of his robes. The cave where he made his abode was placed at a cliff wall. The forest in front of was the only way he could advance. There was no going back, and it was too far to go around. He would be caught up to regardless, so why bother running? Instead, he was quite curious. How the hell were these bastards able to catch up with him so fast? By bastards, he meant the fire nation. He was sure of it. As they drew closer, he could identify them immediately. His brows couldn''t help but furrow in surprise. Unlike regular Fire Nation soldiers in the army, these guys wore a slightly different getup. The middle and lower parts of their uniform were the same as regular soldiers, save for the fact that their uniform carried a brighter shade of red. And instead of bare faces or helmets covering only the back head and forehead area, their helmets were entire masks. ''Imperial Firebenders? Hunting me?'' Luca knew who these guys were. Imperial Firebenders were elite Fire Nation soldiers tasked with protecting members of the Fire Nation Royal Family. Also known as, the Royal Procession. They could only be seen when there were members of the Fire Nation Royal family around. Luca was a bit puzzled. Had he grown that big of a threat that Ozai dispatched these guys to deal with him? ¡°My prince, we found him¡±. ''Prince?'' Turns out he was overthinking. He was being hunted alright, but it wasn''t by the Fire Nation army. But, Prince? At this time, there was only one person who could be regarded as a prince in the Fire Nation. That would be ..... ¡°Finally.....¡±. A young teenage voice resounded from the forest. Following which, a figure emerged from the darkness into plain sight. Bald head with a ponytail hair, Fire Nation uniform, the eye area of his face scarred for all to see. ''Zuko?''. Surprised would never end. ''What''s he doing here?'' ¡°Looks like that bird wasn''t taking us on a wild goose chase after all¡±. ''Bird?'' His eyes widened. Following which, he raised his head up to search for a familiar figure. With the place slightly illuminated, he found what he was looking for. That damn Eagle Hawk. ¡°It ¡­ Followed me¡±. Luca uttered slightly dumbfounded then turned his gaze back to Zuko''s face. ''Well, I''m screwed..... again''. ¡°You''re coming with me¡±. Chapter 15 Meeting Iroh Setting sun ...... Previous day. The darkness encroached over the horizon as the sun slowly bid the world farewell went unnoticed for the time being. Throughout the four nations, the rise of nighttime was usually accompanied by many different activities in particularly bustling cities while it was associated with peace and serenity in the more quieter regions. People in villages and small towns would begin setting up the lanterns while preparing dinner for their respective families. And with the passing of time, those living in these parts would urge their children and family members to go to bed while the lights go out. The war hadn''t come to an end after a hundred years and the smiles on the faces of people had diminished significantly. In some regions, to the point of being completely non-existent. There was no happiness, merrymaking, jolly storytelling by the campfire and village festivals. Those rarely happened anymore. It was an ancient world filled with tragedy and war. Still, peace remained. But on this day, even that last trace of solace was wiped out for a certain group of people. ¡°No .....¡±. Elder Wu fell to his knees, tears slowly streaming down the sides of his face at the sight before him. Fire! Everywhere. The elderly man who should be sitting at his front porch, watching the sun go down with a smile on his face as his grandchildren played with fellow villagers in the sand watched as his home, his village was burned to the ground. Smoke rose to the sky as the houses and whatever possessions within them were burned using firebending. His home..... Gone. His true name wasn''t Elder Wu. That was what many people in the village called him after his two sons left the settlement to fight in the hundred-year war and never returned. His youngest son was called Wu, while his birth name was Kay-Fon. Over time, he had learned to put away the memories of what was and instead look ahead to what could be. Rumors of the Avatar''s return had spread, letting the old man see hope for a better tomorrow. Unfortunately, that dream faded away at the reality before him. This old man, who hadn''t felt such sadness since his wife''s death and the news that his sons would never return again wept bitterly. Tears released like a crack appearing in a dam. ¡°........ It''s over ......¡±. He uttered amidst crying. Thud! Thud! The sound of footsteps moving towards him resounded. ¡°You''re right old man¡±. The shadow of a man emerged behind him in the setting sun. ¡°¡­. It truly is over. For all of you¡±. Standing behind the elderly man was Captain Han''s Lieutenant. And behind him were dozens of Fire Nation soldiers. On the floor around them were the bodies of the villagers spread out almost everywhere. Some died with their eyes bloodshot and wide open, fear, and horror clearly mixed within them. Of course, they were men and consisted the minority of the total village population. Barely up to a dozen of them who still had the spine to shout, scream, and attempt to top them from carrying out their actions. The others huddled in the corner. Old men, women, and children with fear and despair clearly written on their expressions. The children shook with fright, holding their mother''s tightly as they looked at the monsters only told to them in bedtime stories. ¡°We did nothing ......¡±. Still on his knees, Elder Wu or Kay-Fon turned his gaze to the Lieutenant. ¡°We knew ..... Nothing ¡­ We were nothing but simple farmers¡±. ¡°True¡±. The lieutenant responded flatly. Following which, he took several steps forward, towards the burning town. ¡°But, nevertheless, the fate of your little village has already been decided¡±. He stopped and looked at the burning town. The sun had completely disappeared as darkness took over. ¡°As long as they stood out of our way, those men didn''t have to die. How unfortunate, but life goes on¡±. Saying this, he swept his gaze over the few dozen civilians quaking in their shoes. ¡°Which brings us to your lives¡±. Everyone felt their throat tighten. ¡°Under the orders of Fire Nation command, you are to leave this area effective immediately¡±. ¡°Where you go is none of our concern. As long as you''re no longer within five miles of this place, it will suffice. We have been merciful enough to spare your lives ......¡±. He uttered with narrowed eyebrows. ¡°¡­. It would do you well to cherish it¡±. The sound of footsteps resumed as the Lieutenant walked past the broken elderly man towards the exit. Every Fire Nation soldiers he passed all turned around and followed behind him. The town was destroyed according to their captain''s orders. Hence, their job was done. As for the rest of the villagers ...... The lieutenant couldn''t be bothered. This town held little importance, to the point that even burning it was a waste of time. He knew that it was because Captain Han was in a bad mood. He was similar. Killing these villagers was unnecessary and would serve no purpose. Believe it or not, the vast majority of Fire Nation soldiers didn''t believe in wanton massacre. The air nomad genocide was an exception. Because it was personally led under Sozin''s orders. This could be seen as how the Southern Water tribe were left alone after all their water benders were killed. Though that didn''t justify their actions, it at least showed that pure cruelty wasn''t engraved in their bones. The lieutenant was in a bad mood, hence the choice to kill a few of these men who dared to stand and oppose him as a warning to the others. Now that that was completed, he only wanted to leave this damn place. The villagers were left standing there, watching as their nightmare began to leave after leaving them with nothing left. This should have been the end of it. However ...... Someone ..... or something else, said otherwise. Dressed in red and black uniform, the soldiers turned to leave only to suddenly discover that something was approaching from the distance. With the sun disappearing, a monster from the spirit realm ready to vent his wrath and anger on this village again due to the destruction of its precious forest emerged from the dark shadows. Reaching over ten meters tall, a black and white creature walking of four legs fell into view. Its pure white eyes landing on the new additions as if it just discovered something interesting. At that moment, the leaving procession suddenly froze in place. ¡°Sir there''s ¡­.¡± A soldier uttered to the Lieutenant subconsciously before stopping. Not because he couldn''t speak but because he didn''t know what to say. ¡°What the hell .....¡±. ¡°¡­. By Agni ¡­". ¡°What is that thing?¡± The lieutenant''s eyes widened as he took several steps back in fright. ''It can''t be ..... That can''t be ¡­. A spirit?'' Screech! At that moment, Hei Bai opened its mouth, releasing a sonic scream towards the heavens. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. His loud, aggressive actions immediately caused panic in the Fire Nation group. ¡°Open Fire¡±. Seeing the situation, the Lieutenant didn''t hesitate and gave the order as he raised his hands and shot out fire from his fists. The soldiers who could firebend didn''t delay and followed in his actions. Close to a dozen benders shooting fire at the same time, a considerable area covered by trees was enveloped in flames. Unfortunately ....... Screech! A blue sonic scream fueled by powerful chi emerged, blowing away the flames back towards the attackers. Boom! The explosion resounded as the fire nation soldiers were hit back by their own attack. Following which, a black and white shadow streaked forward. (End of Senlin Village Hei Bai arc) ....... (Back to present day) The wind was cold. At least, Luca felt it deeper after being taken from the forest out into sea. The breeze blown over seawater to him was several notches colder than he felt before. He didn''t mind that though due to his attention being placed elsewhere. Although there was no moonlight, the sight before his eyes was still prominent. Floating steadily on the water was a large mass of armored steel, a formidable steam-powered warship. The Fire Navy Cruiser ...... ¡°It''s smaller than the ones I''ve seen¡±. Luca uttered his thoughts plainly as he stared at Zuko''s ship from a distance. The sound of tightening fists could be heard prompting him to draw his gaze to Zuko''s hands. Sure enough, they were clenching. ''What In hell ¡­''. Close to two hours had passed since Luca was apprehended by Zuko. At that moment, the former didn''t resist arrest, nor did he try to escape. The possibility of a successful breakthrough wasn''t high to begin with due to his mediocre stats. Hence, why bother? For an escape with low probability of completion, Luca felt it was unwise to waste the hard-earned Spirit Chi he had left to activate density shifting. As a result, he was cuffed with heavy metal shackles, escorted by two imperial Firebenders along the road and transported from his temporary cave abode in the forest to the Earth kingdom coast three miles away, where Zuko''s ship could be found. Currently, Luca stood on a steam powered sailboat that had transported Zuko and his search team to shore. Now, it was transporting them back to his cruiser, but with an extra addition. Only ¡­. Was this thing really a cruiser? He found it hard to believe. As an Ex-Captain, the memories of Naval transportation fleets were clear in his mind. Even if it was based on the created ships two years ago, there shouldn''t be much difference. After all, new ships weren''t like cars in his previous life that a new model was produced every year. The oldest model of the Navy cruiser he had seen wasn''t as small as this thing before him. ¡°...... I mean, I snuck aboard a cruiser to escape the Fire Islands. Their sizes were twice as big as this one. Carried a lot more personnel too. So many guards that I had to watch my every step cautiously to avoid getting caught. How many can this one carry? Is this even a cruiser? It looks like a cheap knockoff..... Or an abandoned one. Perhaps scraps from the older era ......¡±. If not for the fact that his hands were cuffed, he would definitely raise them and stroke his chin or his non-existent beard with a clear look of puzzlement within his eyes. ¡°Or ...... Are my memories failing me?¡± ¡°Do not mock my ship¡±. At that moment, Zuko yelled in anger. Luca opened his mouth, wanting to say more. But ¡­. Clang! His cuffs shook as he felt pressure come upon him from both sides. Two imperial Firebenders flanked him from his left and right, clearly signalling him to keep shut. Seeing this, Zuko''s frowning face eased. ¡°My ship''s personnel are more than enough to take care of the likes of you¡±. ¡°Really?¡± Luca couldn''t help but raise an eyebrow. ¡°From my experience, it doesn''t look like it can hold much. A standard Cruiser can hold up to ten of these smaller sailboats. How many more do you guys have in there? Five? Three, Two ¡­. One ¡­.?¡± He could see his fists tightening again when he uttered ¡°Two¡±. ''Two more sailboats?'' ¡°Only two sailboats? Wow, pretty poor. How much more manpower can you have? No. As the prince of the Fire Nation, how do you even live like this?¡± ¡°Enough!¡± If not for the helmet that covered his forehead, perhaps Luca would see a few throbbing veins right at that spot. The rest of the short journey was spent in silence as the sailboat moved towards an edge and was brought into the cruiser through the back of the ship. ¡°Prince Zuko ¡­.¡± A while of walking successfully brought them to the deck. Luca''s eyes lit up with enthusiasm and curiosity at the person who appeared before them. Although he was captured, Luca didn''t take it to heart much. After all, the person who captured him was Zuko from the Avatar franchise. Among Avatar''s top three favorite and most prominent male characters. Although he wasn''t a big fanboy, but a large portion of the gloom of not escaping was washed away upon realizing this. After all, he wrote a fanfiction about it. Despite his somewhat difficult situation, it was impossible to have no reaction. But at this point in time, he hadn''t grown into that character fans would come to love at the end yet. The gloomy, hot temperament like a volcano that could erupt at anytime was clearly visible on him. A real live Zuko, scar, bald head with a ponytail and everything else. ¡°Uncle .....¡±. Now if presently, there were few people who liked Zuko, then there was almost nobody who didn''t like the man now approaching them. Short ..... Check. Fat ¡­. Check. Aged ..... Check. The Avatar series favorite uncle, the old, wise, jolly, easy-going uncle Iroh. ¡°I see your search was successful¡±. The old man uttered while sizing me up with his eyes. ¡°Indeed. The Eagle Hawk wasn''t leading me on a wild goose chase. He''s not the avatar, but he has some level of importance¡±. "Then where is it now?" "Gone". "Huh?" ''Huh?'' Iroh exclaimed in confusion. Luca did the same in his mind. "It flew off after he was captured. Perhaps to the outpost it came from". ''Damn! That damn animal flew the coop. Looks like hybrid bird meat for dinner is out of the question''. ¡°Oh? Then who is he?¡± Iroh moved his face closer to Luca''s and observed carefully. ¡°Sure is a young lad. Why don''t I recognize him¡±. At that moment, a fire Nation soldier walked towards the small group with a scroll in his hands. ¡°That uncle, is because he wasn''t relevant .....¡±. The soldier arrived, and Zuko Took the scroll from his grasp. ¡°..... Until two months ago ¡­". The scroll was unfolded before their eyes. A bounty order, a fire nation wanted poster. Perfectly displaying Luca''s portrait as well as his relevant information. ¡°A rebel?¡± Iroh was slightly surprised. ¡°A prison rebel¡±. Zuko replied handing over the scroll to his uncle. ¡°I remember coming across it a few weeks ago. News states that he broke out of Capital prison. Fled the Fire Islands under constant pursuit and escaped towards the Colonies. I was surprised myself when I saw his face .....¡±. Skimming through the information on the scroll, a small frown made its way to Iroh''s face. Ex-Captain? Imprisoned for suspicion on aiding and abetting a wanted criminal? Iroh took another look at Luca''s face. It was too young. The information on this scroll alone suggested a lot of wrong things that shouldn''t be. In response to his gaze, Luca lowered his posture to perform a slight theatrical bow. ¡°General Iroh, Ex-Captain Luca of the Fire Army, proclaimed rebel, recent slaughterer of a fifteen-man search party, at your custody. I am an admirer of your legendary deeds¡±. (I''m an Iroh fan. Deal with it) ¡°Oh!¡± Iroh uttered. ¡°What an ...... Interesting introduction¡±. ¡°Hmph!¡± Zuko snorted. ¡°Quite cocky for someone who''s been captured¡±. ¡°Au Contraire, Mon frere". ¡°What?¡± ¡°Believe me when I tell you this. I''m only here ......¡±. Luca lifted his metal cuffs and smiled. ¡°...... Because I want to be. Of course, I know I''m intruding on the old general''s retirement vacation time, so I won''t take long. I''ll be out of this ship and out of your hair before you know it¡±. Luca replied with a shrug. The novelty of seeing Zuko and Iroh in the flesh had faded, so his eyes began darting everywhere else. A cold snort resounded as Zuko looked at him with narrowed eyebrows. ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Huh? Oh yeah, sure¡±. ¡°Then I''d like to see just how you''ll manage to escape the cells with guards right outside your door¡±. The word ¡°manage¡± carried a heavy emphasis. "Take the rebel to the prison hold''. ¡°Yes my prince¡±. And so, Luca was pushed forward as the Imperial Firebenders walked towards the stairs that led to the inner parts of the ship. Descending the stairs, Luca, and the guards disappeared from sight. Leaving only two figures standing with one looking at the area which the into with a strange gleam in his eyes. ¡°What an interesting young man¡±. Iroh uttered, not knowing where this boy got such confidence from. Then ..... ¡°Prince Zuko .....¡±. He turned his attention back to his beloved nephew. ¡°What do you plan to do with him?¡± Zuko who was about to reach the stairs that led upwards to the tower, paused. His brows furrowed and his face frowned as he pondered on that question. "Father placed quite a heavy bounty on his head for anyone who could successfully capture him". His words made iroh''s face change. "I hope you are not thinking of using him in place of the Avatar to lift your banishment". "What? No uncle. He doesn''t have that much weight". Zuko refuted, his steps resuming. "But our search for the Avatar is our primary goal. And in the long run ...... We could use a large sum of money" Chapter 16 Destination Zuko''s idea wasn''t difficult to fathom. He was a banished prince entrusted with (thrown away with) a previously impossible task. Not anymore, though. The Avatar was alive, and Zuko would make sure he was the one who successfully captured him. He couldn''t let those older bones like Commander Zhao get to his prize before him. But his goal was easier said than done. Although he didn''t want to admit it, Zhao was right about something. ¡°I have dozens of ships under my command. You? You''re just a banished prince¡±. ¡°If your father really wanted you, he would have let you come home by now. Avatar or no Avatar¡±. Zhao said that to him. It stung deeply, but he knew that he was right on both ends. Capturing that blasted Airbender was the only way he could return home. But if he wanted to rely solely on what he had now, then the difficulty would be astronomical. And no matter what world, money could always play an important role. There were some things he couldn''t enjoy anymore as a banished prince. It would be better to achieve it with money. Besides ..... What if? Perhaps his father would look upon him more kindly if he successfully brought this rebel to Justice. It was a big if, but he would take it regardless. After all, it didn''t hurt to try. The lonely, burdened back of the banished prince disappeared through the door that led to the ship''s tower. Iroh watched his nephew leave without any expression. Following which, he turned his gaze back to the staircase that led to the lower deck and stroked his beard in slight thought. ¡°Sir ¡­". The standing soldier came to his side and stretched out his hand in a slight bow to receive the scroll. ¡°Well hold on a minute ¡­". Iroh shook his head, pulling the scroll back. Following which, he began to read in detail. ¡°... I''m not done yet¡±. ........ Thud! Thud! Thud! The sound of footsteps against metal resounded inside. The interior of this ship was quite dark and narrow, with metal walled corridors and dimly lit red lamps. ''If I didn''t know any better, I would have mistaken this place for a submarine''. The feel was the same as on TV. Especially the dim red lamps. Really completed it. With an imperial fire bending in front and one behind, Luca couldn''t help but get a slight d¨¦j¨¤ vu. Oh, right! This scene should be somewhat similar to the time when Aang was arrested by Zuko and was being taken to the cells. Only at that time, Aang immediately implemented an escape plan using his Airbending. Luca couldn''t do that. Hence, there was no quick breakthrough to escape enemy hands. Walking all the way, they moved past one cell door after another until they came to the very end. The one in front took out the key, inserted it into the lock and opened the room. Just like the corridor they came through, the place was dark, with a dim red lamp serving as the only source of lighting. ¡°Inside¡±. The Firebender uttered through his skull type scary mask. Luca didn''t argue and walked inside. Thankfully, this wasn''t just an empty room. There was a small bed placed by the side of the floor. As for things like a toilet for relief...... That was to be determined. Taking a look, he turned around the small room before facing the door he came in through. Bang! The door was promptly closed right after. Followed by the sound of keys securing the lock. Then footsteps moving away. Luca listened carefully. There were no conflicting rhythms within the steps, not even a little bit. With one step following smoothly after the other, it meant only one of them had walked away. The other was probably standing out front, guarding the door. Taking a look through the small airspace at the top of the door, that point was confirmed when what came into his sight was the back view of a Fire Nation helmet. ''Splendid. A bodyguard to make sure I didn''t escape. Zuko wasn''t bluffing on that part''. Luca thought to himself while looking at his hands. The cuffs were still there, binding his wrists together. Zuko also learned his lesson on that part. He remembered that Aang was tied with ropes when the scarred prince apprehended him. They were gotten rid of effortlessly during his escape Chuckling at the thought, he moved towards the bedside and sat down, not minding the shackles one bit. After all, he wasn''t going to be here long. It was easy to slip out of those. He was a bit tempted to take a long nap here and prepare to escape when he woke up. Unfortunately, that wasn''t ideal. Luca sat down on the bed with his legs crossed. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes before reopening them a second later and uttered inwardly. ''Stat Panel''. Like always, a status screen appeared in his line of sight, hovering a few inches away from him. ''Alright. It''s time to finally come to a decision, isn''t it?'' He thought looking through it again to see if here were any changes. There weren''t. ''What am I going to do ..... Once I get out of here ¡­.''. It was a question he had no answer to. Ever since he was dropped here in this world two days ago and suddenly handed a death warrant, life had been something of a rollercoaster. The events taking place weren''t the standard novice village one would expect from the first day of transversing. Of course, it could be worse. ''Perhaps this is the novice village''. Thinking of transversing to the time when he was still within Fire nation territory ....... Now that was a hellish start. Still, the thought didn''t make his situation any better. After escaping this place, he would still be on the run from the Fire Nation. Wandering aimlessly wasn''t a solution. His current goal was to escape past Omashu, but that city would be conquered in due time. By then, the pursuit would surely continue. The longer this dragged on, the worse his situation would get. The Fire Nation never tolerated rebels, always hunting them down with full force. There was no such thing as lying low till they eventually gave up. This was why the Defection rate had dwindled significantly to the point of being almost non-existent over the years. One would be forced to forever live life looking over their shoulders. Now, it was just search parties and scouts. As time passed, he would be considered a thorn needing to be eradicated. Perhaps Ozai would take it to the next level, growing angry that he ran away without accomplishing the tasks. By then, more advanced troops would follow. If Ozai was determined enough to locate him, Luca didn''t think there was anywhere in this world where he could hide. Aside from the spirit world of course, but there was no way he was going there anytime soon. Aerial scout ships would be able to pursue effortlessly. The earth Kingdom tracker, June with her Shirshu, Nyla would be able to trace his scent, no matter what part of the world he was on. The Rough Rhino''s could and probably would be sent over. The Fire Nation''s highest assassination experts, the unfailable Yuyan Archers with a perfect mission record ..... Perhaps even ..... Azula herself. Luca shuddered imperceptibly at the thought. If any of the last three were sent to hunt him down, then he would truly be finished. Ozai could definitely do this. After all, wasn''t he sending him to kill his former commanding officer? . Rebels weren''t tolerated. ''So now, I have two choices. One, running and hiding while developing my power until I have the ability to take on the entire Fire Nation myself and hoping I don''t get caught and killed in the process.....''. This was what Aang and team Avatar did throughout the whole series. Running from one location to another, finding masters to teach Aang bending, improving their strength, making friends and allies, while prevailing over adversity again and again in a journey of self discovery. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. From the Southern Water tribe to the fire nation colonies, to the Earth Kingdom to the Northern Water tribe, back to the earth kingdom, to the Fire Nation ¡­. Aang mastered the other elements in the span of a year and gathered enough strength to finally fight against Ozai. Throughout that time, they were chased by Zuko, Zhao, Fire Nation Army, Fire Nation Navy, Azula and the team, Combustion Man ¡­. When watching the series, it looked cool. Awe-inspiring even. Wasn''t it just running from your enemies? Wasn''t that easy? Yeah ..... No. Not in real life pal. As a transverser who had clearer knowledge and understanding of the world, Luca knew that the above script was simply designed for protagonists with escape cheats and plot armor to boot. Transversers are protagonists as well? The notification informing him of his ''Trial'' stated otherwise. He never forgot that the number one reason why Team Avatar could achieve all their wonderful close call escapes in the series was because they had the equivalent of a teleportation talisman in the cultivation world. Appa! That''s right. That flying bison was by far Aang''s most valuable ally. The lynchpin to the Avatar''s success. Without him, Aang would never master all four elements..... Likely wouldn''t even master three. He would be captured by Zuko and brought back to the Fire Nation from the first episode. The glorious journey would probably end before it all began. On the Avatar''s journey to save the world, the flying bison''s contribution was almost ninety percent. He was even more valuable than the unreliable Avatar state at the beginning. Don''t agree? Well, that''s how Luca saw it. The only reason Aang was able to live long enough to actually stand a chance was because Appa was the head of their running away department. If Luca''s evasion and escape was at 16, then Appa with his ability to fly, started at 30 with a conservative estimate. Luca had no such advantage. (I explain this in such detail in case most readers feel unsatisfied about the choice. This won''t be a smooth sailing, worry free novel without many risks so quit your protagonist mentality here and now. The MC will not have the ability to wipe out wave after wave of enemy forces chasing him during the early stage. He can barely get enough Chi to use density shifting for ten seconds as it is. With no bending, he is weak without his perks and his skills aren''t enough to help him achieve what most will probably ask. The reality will be a grim and grisly death. So running away from the fire nation like Aang and the gang did for the entire series is unrealistic and full of too much plot armor to implement on a character without a flying bison. This just goes to show that even the basic action of running away to fight another day is difficult as hell) ''¡­. Or two ¡­ Complete Ozai''s mission''. Luca could see the brief flash of hatred in Ozai''s eyes when he mentioned her. He probably understood why. Fire General Onomu wasn''t a part of the Avatar series. Not even a mere mention or a slight flashback. She never existed in the cartoons, but she did exist in the video game Avatar Generations. Luca had played it before. Hence he remembered the storyline. Onomu was once a high-ranking general in the Fire Army known for her power, pride, and arrogance. Sometime after Ozai became Fire Lord, he held a war meeting to discuss how his ambitions to conquer Omashu could be made reality. Onomu, convinced that this was nothing but a vanity project, voiced her opposition. Overwhelmed by her ego, she exchanged Terse words with the fire Lord, believing that the other officers would back her up. No one did. There and then, she knew that her criticism towards Ozai had effectively marked her for death and retreated as soon as possible, escaping from the capital. The Fire Lord himself probably never expected her to react so fast, hence her successful escape. If that wasn''t bad enough, not only did she defect, but she also left with several important Fire Nation War plans. Yep. Her living was completely intolerable. The game itself never went into detail on whether Onomu survived after escaping to the Earth kingdom, as apparently, Grand Secretariat Long Feng (Head of the Dai Li) who she had made a deal with to exchange the war plans for sanctuary in Ba Sing Se never actually intended to let her live. He only had interest in the war plans and had decided to kill Onomu after obtaining them. It was a curtain fall from there and the rest was unknown. But from Ozai''s information, she was probably still alive. Last seen near the Si Wong Desert. At the current stage, that was a no man''s land the Fire Nation had no access to. Hence, why Ozai found him. The notification also said that Ozai saw that he had some value so he gave him a chance. Although a nearly impossible one, it was still a chance. This meant that he wouldn''t go back on his word and try to silence him after the mission was completed. As long as Luca successfully killed Onomu and brought her head back, then he could rid himself off the status of a rebel. Compared to spending a full year or more on the run, it was a much better option. As for the second task. ¡­ Sorry, but Luca had no intention to kill Jeong Jeong. Not only because he was a master Firebender and a named character on the good side in the avatar series, but also because he was a member of the white lotus. Killing him would be branding himself an enemy of Iroh, Bumi, Paku and his master Piandao. Just for the fact that Piandao had helped to get the predecessor out of jail, he wouldn''t carry out such an action even if he could. Onomu on the other hand, who was an extra among extras gave much less psychological burden. ''¡­. Should I go down this path?'' Of course, nothing was set in stone. At the end of the day, Luca knew the number one principle of all Transversers. When there is little strength, your actions, although high profile at times, are always measured. During the growth phase, cautiousness, over planning and hiding of trump cards were second nature. Once the growth phase is over ....... All other principles be damned. Regardless of their character. Lustful, greedy, lazy, willful, murderous, they all had one thing in common. Arrogance hidden in their bones to the extreme. As beings from a ¡°higher dimension¡±, they saw themselves as superior to anyone and everyone else. Add a cheat to that and boom¡­. The fourth natural disaster in any and every world. Luca knew he was no exception. This time spent being hunted ..... He would definitely repay it back tenfold. Second principle ..... Repay enmity and gratitude tenfold. It dawned on him then. ''No wonder my alignment is Lawful Evil''. But that day hadn''t come yet. Now wasn''t the time to rush into the fire nation palace, blades akimbo but to take calculated, measured actions. ''The notification ¡­.''. Among all this, Ozai wasn''t even his greatest enemy. Luca hadn''t forgotten that all his actions in this world, would ultimately add up for an evaluation after he was done. Put accurately in the words of xianxia novels ¡­ In the grand scale of things, the fire nation was nothing but a little Karami. The Trial evaluation was his ultimate foe. His actions would constitute his final score, and hence he needed to live long enough to make a good impact. Hiding and waiting until he was strong enough to make a difference wouldn''t really make much of an impact, would it? ¡°Strength. The number one priority has always strength¡­.¡±. He muttered to himself, his gaze focusing on the stat panel. ¡°To get stronger, I can only rely on my chosen perks .....¡±. Chi absorption, Density shifting, Chi manipulation. Density shifting was the signature skill in his arsenal. But it was restricted due to Chi requirements. Now, Luca''s regular Chi reserves stagnated at 223 points. It wasn''t enough for three seconds. As for Spirit Chi ..... This was a scarce resource. Luca had already made up his mind to refrain from using it unless there was no other way. It was the gateway to new abilities. Thinking that his Spirit chi would only dwindle but never refill, he felt greatly distressed. ''There has to a way to naturally regenerate it''. He thought with a slightly pensive expression. Information on the Avatar verse passed through his mind. From the ATLA to ATLOK, to the pitiful information he knew about the legend of Genji ¡­. He tried hard to recall everything he knew about the spirit realm. Luca sat that way as time elapsed. Eventually, he gave up. The spirit realm before Korra''s time was basically a mystery. The Legend of Korra series did go in-depth in season 2, but Luca remembered nothing concerning Spirit chi and a detailed explanation of what was so special about it. Well, until yesterday, he didn''t even know that regular Chi and the chi produced by spirits had differences. This was why all his previous speculations could only remain as such. Speculations. For the first time, he found his plot knowledge insufficient. Apart from going into the spirit realm to research by himself (which was suicide for the current him), there was no other place that had detailed information about that place in the four nations. Unless of course ...... At that moment, Luca''s contemplating expression froze. Then his eyes lit up and widened to the extreme as his brain kicked into high gear. Aside from the Avatar, no other human had more information the spirit realm. But what if this informant wasn''t a human? A name emerged in his mind. Wan Shi Tong. The giant owl who owned a library at the middle of the Si Wong desert, the spirit of knowledge ...... The last part wasn''t verified, but Luca''s enthusiasm didn''t care. All the answers he needed concerning Chi produced by spirits ¡­. Perhaps even the avatar might be stumped. Wan Shi Tong on the other hand ..... He might actually find what he was looking for. If not for the fact that his hands were cuffed, Luca would have slapped them against his face, wondering why he didn''t think of this sooner. That Library was a treasure trove that could hold the answers to all his problems, and more. Forget about his Chi, he would go there regardless. There were things he needed to learn that would be hard to find anywhere else. At that point, his Chi Manipulation perk which has been dormant, would finally serve its true purpose. If before he was hesitating on what to do after, now it was basically decided. ''Si Wong desert, General Onomu, Wan Shi Tong ..... Here I come''. ....... The Navy cruiser sailed on the Mo Ce Sea along the Earth Kingdom Coast. Down in the Prison Hold ...... The imperial Firebender stood at alert, guarding the cell of the only prisoner on the ship. With the key in his possession, he stood facing the entrance to the Prison Hold and his back against the cell itself. ¡°Alright then ¡­.¡±. Luca no longer sat cross-legged. He twisted his neck to the side casing them to make cracking noises before moving towards the door and raising his cuffed hands. A small, imperceptible smile crept its way up to his face without him noticing. ¡°.... Let''s get out of here ¡­.¡±. ''Density Shifting''. His density shifted instantly, and the cuffs fell off. The moment it did, Luca phased right through the locked metal door, appearing on the other side and stretching his arm out. The Imperial Firebender didn''t even react as the arm passed right through his chest, straight through his heart. Chapter 17 Escape The Fire Navy Cruiser sailed out to deeper waters. Although still on the southern seas near the edge of the southern earth kingdom, it was now miles away from shore. Now, there were only two options for a regular human to get to land. One, a ship. Two, waterbending. As for trying to swim to the coast? Drowning was definitely a sure bet. Smoke was expelled into the sky from the top of the ship''s tower mast, generated from the coal consumed to power the cruiser''s engines. And in the dinning room somewhere halfway up that tower ..... A servant walked in, holding a plate of freshly cooked and seasoned fish and placed it on the table. Zuko gave a slight nod, expressing his satisfaction. ¡°That will be all¡±. The servant immediately took a bow, turned around and walked out of the room as soon as his job was done. In the fire nation, rank and hierarchy were taken seriously. So although Zuko''s banishment had greatly impacted his status, it did nothing to change his overall mindset. The crew of the ship basically dined in the Mess Hall, while Iroh and Zuko ate separately. The former did it so he could spend more time with his nephew, while the latter felt it was beneath him to associate himself with members of staff like his uncle did. He was the one in charge of this ship. And as Prince of the Fire Nation, it was beneath him to eat the same thing the rest of the crew did. So with an expressionless face, Zuko picked up his cutleries, facing his evening meal. The fish was just part of a delectable array of dishes specially prepared by the Head Chef. A cook brought on by Iroh himself and was the jolly uncle''s favorite member of the crew. During the initial year of his banishment, Zuko agreed that bringing that cook was one of the best decisions his uncle had ever made for him till date. Even back in the palace, the cuisine the family dined on daily wasn''t necessarily much better than this. Fried Bangus Fish, boiled Sea clams, delicious silverskim fish with garnish applied, and of course, his uncle''s personal favorite, Roasted Komodo Chicken. If there was anything this ex-crown prince ever looked forward to apart from capturing the avatar during his long days away from home, it was dinner. And with how well his uncle got along with the rest of the crew, Zuko was almost certain that the only reason Iroh joined him here instead of going to the mess hall was because of this. Dinner began and though expressionless, the crown prince ate with relish. That was until he turned his attention to the jolly fat man sitting across. ¡°Uncle ¡­.¡±. Zuko called out confused. ¡°.... Huh? What is it, prince Zuko? .....¡±. ¡°You''re not eating¡±. The prince uttered with a puzzled face. This was the first time ever that his uncle wasn''t stuffing his face with Komodo Chicken. While at the same time, eyeing him warily to make sure he didn''t steal a piece from his bowl without his knowledge. Instead, his face sported a solemn expression while he read a ...... Scroll? Zuko took a look and was surprised. Wasn''t this the same scroll he showed his uncle some time ago? Why was he still with it? ¡°Oh!¡± Iroh nodded. ¡°I guess I''m not exactly in the mood for dinner right now¡±. The old man replied, his voice clearly not as easygoing. ¡°But it''s dinner time¡­.¡±. Zuko said without stopping his actions. ¡°.... And you''re always in the mood when it''s dinner time¡±. ¡°...¡±. Iroh didn''t respond. Zuko frowned. ¡°Is it because of the prisoner?¡± The old man nodded. ¡°What?¡± Receiving his affirmation, Zuko was a little alarmed. ¡°Did you find anything wrong?¡± ¡°Not exactly ¡­.¡±. Looking over the scroll for the third time, Iroh shook his head. The details here were enough to surprise the old man a little. After all, a captain at the age of seventeen wasn''t something easily achievable. Even within a special department. His son, Lu Ten, had received a good deal of promotions while he was still alive. And if that were all, Iroh certainly wouldn''t pay much attention to a common rebel. What truly surprised him was how exactly had this young man managed to escape Capital Prison and escape this far without being captured. Were the security guards guarding the criminals nowadays so lax? That and ..... ¡°.... Although his information is rather peculiar, it loses the initial surprise¡±. ¡°Then?¡± Iroh was right about this. Zuko felt the same. ¡°I can''t shake the feeling that something is ..... Off about him¡±. ¡°What?¡± The prince was dumbfounded at first. He had seen the contents of the scroll, but unlike others, he cared very little. What did it matter if someone two years older than him used to have the rank of a captain in the army? In the Fire Nation''s long history, it wasn''t rare. Such information had nothing to do with him and wouldn''t help him in any way on his quest to capture the Avatar, so why bother? Seeing his uncle always so idle suddenly take an interest in such a matter, Zuko originally thought he had noticed something. Turns out, it was just a feeling. Realizing this, the scarred prince had his face darken greatly. ¡°Another one of your hunches. What good could those do?¡± ¡°Do not neglect instinct, prince Zuko....¡±. Iroh rebutted. ¡°A man''s gut is his best advisor¡±. ¡°Whatever¡±. The tone in which he replied indicated that he wasn''t taking it seriously. ¡°Whether your gut is right or not, the prisoner is already in the prison hold. No one''s getting him out until we get to the next fire Nation Outpost¡±. Iroh furrowed his eyebrows, put the scroll aside and began to eat. ¡°The report says he managed to escape the Capital and evaded capture for so long. Yet, you speak so lightly of him. What if he escapes?¡± ¡°Hmph! He''s already been captured. What makes you think he can escape?¡± ¡°The Avatar escaped. What makes you think he can''t?¡± Those words made Zuko''s eyebrows narrow. He opened his mouth and uttered in an elevated voice with clear emphasis. ¡°He''s not the avatar¡±. Then he turned to his food and murmured. ¡°Not even a bender, either¡±. ¡°You are underestimating an opponent again .....¡±. ¡°He''s a prisoner, not an opponent¡±. Zuko dropped his cutleries and stood up, leaving the half-eaten meal fish meal behind. ¡°I''m full. If something''s bothering you, do something about it¡±. Then he walked away. Seeing his nephew heading towards the door, Iroh raised his eyebrows. ¡°Where are you going, Nephew?¡± ¡°I''m going to bed. No disturbances¡±. The curtains were pulled aside as Zuko walked out. Iroh gazed at the door he passed through for a few seconds before turning to the Komodo Chicken again ..... The night''s dinner was uneventful. As the ship sailed the waters, Iroh walked down the tower and appeared on the deck. At this time, he should be sleeping peacefully in bed without a care. He was very much capable of such. After all, when Zuko discovered the avatar in the North Pole and Aang was taken to the cells, barely three minutes passed before Aang escaped and opened Iroh''s room while searching for his staff. And what do you know. The old guy was literally dozing off in bed. After the Avatar was finally discovered, he just went to bed that easily?Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Answer ..... Yep. Tonight was different, though. Thud! Thud! Calm footsteps resounded as the old man walked towards his destination. Within his mind, the image of the eighteen-year-old boy in shackles couldn''t help but replay in his mind over and over. ¡°I''m a fan of your Legendary deeds¡± ''Strange ...... A strange young man ¡­''. Iroh''s eyebrows couldn''t help but furrow. Although he usually acted like ¡­ In Zuko''s words, A Jolly Old Fool, the retired general of the Fire Nation was anything but such. After the death of his only son, he had gone on a journey throughout the world. That also included a spiritual adventure in which he ventured into the spirit realm searching for Lu Ten. He never found him, as the spirit realm wasn''t the realm of the dead. Nevertheless, he did attain something else entirely. A spiritual sensitivity far greater than what ordinary people could master. This was shown in the original timeline. On the winter solstice, Aang in the Spirit state was taken by Avatar Roku''s dragon to receive Roku''s message. Iroh who had been captured by earthbenders at that time was able to see their spirits fly over him and the Earthbending group while the others didn''t notice something was amiss. His time in the Spirit realm led him into encounters against spirits. Even if he wasn''t sure of exactly what he felt, the Dragon Of The West would never mistake a disturbance on the spiritual level. - Until your foreign soul adapts, you will come off as odd to normal people and even more so to those spiritually sensitive - And so, it was with that feeling that the old man walked towards the Prison hold in an attempt to discover what exactly his gut was pointing to. Something was wrong with that young man, something Iroh couldn''t ignore. Walking towards the stairs, Iroh saw an Imperial Firebender coming from the direction of the Prison Hold. ¡°Sir ¡­.¡±. A distorted voice sounded from the helmet as the man uttered with a slight bow and continued on his way. Iroh gave a light nod. Imperial Firebenders were tasked with protecting the royal family. Unlike the rest of the crew, they were much stricter and more rigid with rules and traditions. ''Do shift changes occur so fast nowadays?'' The old man wondered. How long had it been since they set sail? A shift change was already in motion. His steps didn''t stop in the slightest as he moved forward and walked down the stairs. The dim red lamp lights fell into his gaze as he advanced past the metal walls and floors. When he was no longer far from the final door, Iroh stopped in confusion. ''There are no guards here. So ¡­. Isn''t this a shift change?'' He turned his head from one point to another, looking around. Logically speaking, the previous guard had left. There should be another one here to take his place during the exchange of shifts. Or was he wrong? His eyes squinted as he stood facing the door. ¡°Is anyone there?¡± ¡°..¡±. As you could possibly imagine, there was no response. ''Aye ¡­''. The Dragon of the West thought inwardly as he took a few steps closer. The closer he got, the clearer he was that something had gone wrong here. Less than three feet away, a sound came into his ears. Coming from the other side of the iron door, it was muffled and low, but it could still be heard. At first, Iroh thought it was someone struggling. The sound of a person who had been tied up and was calling out for help. But that thought was overturned as the sound grew clearly. Sizzling ...... A sizzling sound emerged from behind the door, causing Iroh''s face to change drastically. ''Trap!''. And so, the old man turned around, large amounts of blazing flames blasting from underneath of his legs. The propulsion from the flames granted him an immediate retreat, quickly pushing him from one end of the prison hold to the other where the stairs were. As for the sizzling sound? Anyone who could look through to the other side of the door would see the body of the Imperial Firebender, stripped of his uniform and laying motionless on the floor alongside almost half of Zuko''s inventory of black powder connected to a lit fuse. It had been more than an hour since the ship set out after Luca''s capture. He didn''t spend that time doing nothing. The fuse burned out from one end to the other and then...... Boom! Iroh had just emerged from the staircase when a large explosion erupted from Luca''s cell at the center in all directions. The Prison Hold was destroyed, the staircase leading to the deck was destroyed, the frontal area of the deck was also destroyed. The explosion was followed up with a large shockwave, sending metal bits flying in all directions. Iroh who was close to the explosion bore the brunt of it as his body suffered the aftermath first hand. The shockwave knocked him off his feet, sending him flying off the side of the cruiser. Bang! The huge explosion immediately stirred the ship alongside all those within it. Zuko laying half naked was shaken awake with the ship''s tremor and thrown off his comfy bed. ¡°Ahh. ¡­ What was that?¡± He uttered grimly and picked himself from the floor. ¡°Ugh!¡± Iroh let out a muffled groan as The Dragon Of The West was knocked overboard before he could even react. The evening was calm, but Zuko''s ship was already in chaos. All available personnel immediately made their way to the deck, while those off shift duties were similarly awakened by the ruckus and made their way in that direction. ¡°What the hell is happening here ¡­?¡± Zuko dressed in an ordinary white shirt and black sleeping pants emerged from the tower. Seeing the fire burning on the deck, his face fell, and he roared at the nearest officer he could find. Conveniently, that person was the Captain of the ship, Lieutenant Jee. (In the army, the commander of a ship is called Captain regardless of their rank. The Lieutenant is the ship''s captain, but his rank remains one of a lieutenant) ¡°There''s been an explosion. The prison hold has been destroyed, and .....¡±. ¡°I can see that with my own eyes. What I want to know is why¡±. ¡°We ¡­. We don''t know what happened, sir. The whole thing occurred so sudden ¡­.¡±. Boom! Another miniature explosion came up again. The ship and everyone on it shook unsteadily. ¡°Captain, it''s not good¡±. At that moment, the crew engineer ran over with an anxious face. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°The hull''s been damaged. We''re taking in water .....¡±. ¡°What?¡± ¡°What?¡± Zuko and Jee both had their expressions changed drastically. ¡°What the hell are you waiting for? Get your men over and quench those flames fast¡±. ¡°I ¡­.¡±. Captain Jee felt slightly displeased. After all, no one would like being yelled at all the time. ¡° ...... Yes sir". In the end, he held back, clearly knowing his place. ¡°Good¡­.¡±. Zuko turned to the engineer. ¡°How bad is it?¡± ¡°No idea, my prince. I won''t be able to gauge the severity until I examine it¡±. ¡°Then find out quickly. I don''t care what you do or how you do it, this ship must not sink¡±. Zuko was arrogant and hot-tempered but he was very self-conscious. As a banished prince, he had lost a lot of his entitlements. If this ship sank, the cost would be unimaginable. There was no way he would be able to find another ship to continue his search for the Avatar. Unless his uncle could pull some strings ..... ¡°Help!¡± It happened then. A pained voice fell into his ears, causing Zuko to turn his head in that direction. That voice? Why did it sound like his uncle? Hold on ..... Where was his uncle? Zuko took a look around, only to discover that Iroh wasn''t on the deck. ¡°Uncle?¡± ¡°Zuko¡±. The scarred prince rushed to the side of the cruiser, his eyes widening when he saw Iroh hanging on to the ship''s cruiser with one hand. ¡°Uncle!¡± Zuko yelled in alarm before turning to call the crew members. ¡°Man overboard¡±. Soldiers rushed over, all putting effort to pull the heavy chain upward as Iroh clung on. As the retired general was brought back on deck, everyone gasped and Zuko''s pupils shrank. ¡°Ha ..... Ha¡­. Ha¡­". The old man sat on the floor, grasping his right arm that now had a metal shard embedded into it. (It hurts me to write this) It wasn''t the only one. Small pieces of metal could be seen on several parts of his body. The old man''s robes had numerous bloodstains. ¡°Uncle ¡­. Are you ok?¡± ¡°.... I''m fine prince Zuko". Iroh said with a solemn face as he spat out blood. ¡°My old bones have been through worse. It will take more than this to ruin my retirement¡±. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°I told you not to underestimate your enemy. Now the consequences have befallen us all¡±. Zuko frowned. ¡°What does this have to do with him?¡± "History repeats itself my nephew. As just like the Avatar, your prisoner has escaped yet again". Iroh said, turning his gaze into the distance. ¡°Impossible!¡± Zuko immediately denied. ¡°Really? Then did you authorize a riverboat departure I saw from the side of the cruiser?¡± ¡°What?¡± The prince let out another loud exclamation. Following which, he rushed towards the back end of the ship only to see the hangar door open wide. Then, he turned his gaze to the distance. Sure enough, a steam powered riverboat could be seen moving in the opposite direction a considerable distance away. ¡°Damn!¡± Iroh hardly ever said anything he really wanted to hear. And Zuko hated it the most when he was right about things like this. ¡°Ready the riverboats! Prepare to go after him¡±. Currently, he cared not about the situation of his ship or if his actions would delay his quest to capture the avatar. All he wanted now was to catch this bastard who blew up his cruiser. Several seconds later ¡­ ¡°Sir, the other two riverboats have been sabotaged¡±. A soldier reported to him the situation. Zuko''s dark face, if possible, grew darker. ¡°Get the catapult¡±. A few more moments passed ..... ¡°Sir, the catapult has also ¡­. been .....¡±. The man''s voice fell lower and lower, seeing the prince''s furious expression. ¡°Argggggghg!¡± Eventually, he couldn''t hold it in. A large blast of fire was released from his fists, shooting into the distance. It ultimately fell on the sea surface, causing a large splash and dissipating. This action had no real purpose other than to vent Zuko''s extreme anger at the moment. After all, the boat was already too far away for even the catapults to reach. ¡°This isn''t over! You hear me? I will find you ¡­. You basta........¡±. Meanwhile, Luca who had taken off the Imperial Firebender helmet and was steering the riverboat suddenly sneezed. ¡°Damn. Who''s ranting behind my back?¡± Chapter 18 The Plan Unless you were gifted something akin to a Salted Fish system, or had an extreme sense of Justice, almost all Transversers would have the Lawful Evil alignment based on their actions. Human souls wandering from planet earth were usually synonymous with one word. Chaos. There were three different scenarios. One, If it wasn''t an already known world, then the legendary journey to embed their names in history would begin. Two, If it was, then expect the original timeline to come crashing down at some point. And three, if it were an online gaming world on any kind..... ''hughh!'' one would shiver at the thought. There was reincarnation, soul crossing, or of course, a mixture of both. One that would give birth to probably the biggest catastrophe any fantasy world will ever experience ..... The players. Honestly, those were the worst. Vast numbers of idle, crazed human beings with virtual bodies and unkillable souls who did nothing but grind, grind and grind all day long. On the steam powered riverboat, Luca couldn''t help but ponder multiple scenarios. In their campaign for world domination, the Fire Nation had made greats strides and achieved considerable success. The Air Nomads were wiped out, southern water tribe disabled, Earth kingdom territory conquered in large acres ..... With their advanced technology, powerful bending ability and large troop numbers second only to the earth kingdom, it was only a matter of time before the whole world fell into Ozai''s control. ...... Then something completely incomprehensible happened. A virtual player army from planet Earth was summoned to fight in the hundred-year war. Rich, poor, old and young ..... Millions of gaming maniacs with helmets on their heads as they stared at their screens and sat on their chairs ready for the gaming experience of a lifetime....... [You have received a new quest: The Fire Nation has waged war on the world and are very close to succeeding. Join the ranks of earth kingdom fighters and push back the invasion of the colonists] [Reward: A random Bending affinity] ''Yep, if that happened, the fire nation were goners''. Although the chances of such events taking place were infinitely close to zero, Luca still found the possibility hilarious. But it would be difficult for regular players to beat soldiers, so levelling up was essential. The poor animals and beasts would bear the brunt of it. Honestly, he sometimes wondered how such a situation would spin off if it actually happened. This all went to insinuate the troubles a transverser could cause. ''The world would be plunged into chaos''. He thought, resisting the urge to chuckle, remaining completely unaware that his simple actions of escaping from the Fire Nation had already begun causing ripples in the timeline. The butterfly effect, if you will. On the steam powered riverboat, Luca stepped away from the steering wheel. ¡°Stat Panel¡±. Although it had been nothing more than a few days, Luca had already made it a habit to check his status every time he went through an event of any kind. Be it minor or major. Escaping capture from Zuko''s ship three days ago was definitely something noteworthy. Name: Luca Race: Fire Nation ....... Attributes: Strength 10, Dexterity 9 Constitution 11, Chi 895, Perception 14, Spirit Chi: 1,305 Fatigue: Fatigue 2/100 Alignment: Lawful Evil Personal Perks: Density Shifting, Permanent Chi Absorption, Chi Manipulation: 186, Mastered abilities: Stealth: 16, Blademanship: 16, Hand To Hand Combat: 13, Poison Mastery: 17, Disguise:16, Tool Creation: 15, Marksmanship: 16, Lock picking: 15, Earth Kingdom Culture: 16, Interrogation: 17, Battle Instinct: 14, Evasion and Escape: 16, Regeneration: 10 Assignable Achievement Points (AP): ........ Status: Otherworlder/ Rebel (spy)(Fugitive on the run) ....... ...... After confirming his destination and next course of action while imprisoned on Zuko''s ship, Luca immediately began implementing his escape plan. Using his originally pitiful 223 chi reserves, he phased out of his shackles, through the metal door and right through the heart of the imperial firebender guarding the door. All in less than two seconds. For a moment, he actually felt.... ''The Reverse Flash ¡­.''. Of course, it was the yellow-suited speedster. After all, Barry never killed anyone with phasing. Sounds easy right? No ¡­. No, it wasn''t. At that moment, Luca realized that shifting density to phase through objects was one thing, but attempting to kill a man using said ability was another. At first, Luca thought that all he had to do was phase his hand through the chest and into the Firebender''s heart before materializing it. Hence, a human hand appearing in the middle of a heart would make it explode. The theory wasn''t wrong, so it worked without a hitch. The Imperial Firebender had been killed with one blow. However, Luca had skipped a crucial question and performed such action unprepared. What would happen when solid matter appeared simultaneously within solid matter? (From now verified information) Turns out, the atoms comprising one had to give way for the other, hence falling apart. As for which one would give way ..... It all depends on which of the two was denser. Luca had inserted a quarter of his arm inside a living body. Compared to a hand with strong bones, a meaty heart would definitely give way. But due to his unfamiliarity with his ability and lack of practice, the area he materialized wasn''t just moving through the heart but also the rib cage. That''s where the problem laid. Squelch! Those flash TV shows were spitting blatant half-truths in their action scenes. Luca completed the kill, but didn''t complete it unscathed. The moment he killed the guard, immense pain suddenly flooded his senses, causing him to collapse. ¡°Argh¡±. Thud! ''¡­. I ¡­. What the hell ¡­.''. Falling to his knees, the boy took a look at his right hand, his eyes widening in shock at what he saw. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Blood. Unknowingly, cracks had appeared all over the area from his fingertips to a little over his wrist. Crack! Beads of sweat emerged on his forehead As the slight attempt to move it was immediately followed by the pain of broken bones. In his first attempt to phase kill, Luca ended up breaking his arm. Unlike in TV shows, real life stated that phasing into and through other objects carried serious dangers. It was fine if you could make it all the way through. If you couldn''t¡­. Then it was either the phased through object broke apart for you to appear or your very being getting squashed between the molecular spaces within the object. The mere imagination of the latter displayed a gruesome image in his head that could easily be classified as a swift and miserable death. For the phased object to break apart instead of you, then the density of your atoms must surpass the former. To escape without injury, your density needed to surpass it by far. It would have been fine If he had simply phased the part of his hand that was right through the heart, but unknowingly, he had materialized everything else that had gone through to the other side. ''¡±ugh!¡± Luca let out a pained groan through gritted teeth. He couldn''t scream, he couldn''t make his actions known and raise an alarm. Due to the tight schedule at the time, not knowing when the next shift would appear and preferring to escape this place without staging a brutal battle, Luca placed the problem of his half-baked phase kill aside and bore with the pain. It happened then. The ball of Spirit Chi stationed firmly at the bottom of his abdominal area finally grew active. Luca wanted to kill the imperial firebender instantly. One, because his regular Chi only allowed two seconds of usage time. And two, having made up his mind to preserve his Spirit chi, he decided not to use it unless absolutely necessary. Great, now it was acting without his consent. Streams of energy flowed from his Dantian (This isn''t an intended Chinese MTL word usage. It is recorded and used in ATLA at the North Pole during the explanation of using waterbending chi in healing to Katara) to his right limb. The last time this happened was when Luca was pierced by an arrow. At that time, he was clothed and riding a Komodo Rhino. Hence he only felt the sensation within his clothes but never actually witnessed it. Now he did. Streams of blue energy emerged from his pores, enveloping the injured area. A soothing feeling emerged from his bleeding, broken arm, followed by a moderate itch. This was the blood platelets working at hyper speed after being drowned in large amounts of Spirit energy drink. At the same time, his Spirit Chi began to deplete rapidly. One point disappeared with each passing second for close to four minutes. Almost a two hundred points of Spirit chi was used to regenerate a broken and bleeding arm. This was also why his Spirit chi had decreased instead of remaining stagnant. For Luca, alongside Joy, was also depression. But just like the matter with his phase kill, that was swiftly put behind him for the meantime as well. ''Well, this isn''t a total loss ¡­.''. He thought to himself as he looked at the corpse of the imperial firebender. Placing his hand, he activated his chi absorption technique and a large amount of energy flooded into his body. It couldn''t be compared to Hei Bai''s, but it was definitely a shocking number. Chi: +493. A regular Firebender provided him with more than a hundred points of Chi. And an imperial firebender gave almost six times that amount. Following which, Luca took the key and unlocked his cell. Then he stripped the Firebender of his uniform, tossed his body into it, and left the prison hold. Zuko''s ship was smaller than a regular fire Nation cruiser. Not only was the ship an old model, but it was also understaffed. The reason this banished prince even had a crew was because of his uncle Iroh. There were scarce men patrolling the ship and those who were would not dare interfere with the actions of an Imperial Firebender. Apart from Zuko and Iroh, no one else had the ability to order them around. Not even Captain Jee could question their actions unless it was clearly fatal and dangerous. The following time was spent exploring Zuko''s ship, during which he found the ship''s armory, killed the non-bending guards and drained their chi. If there was a favorability rating, he was sure that his values with zuko would be in the negative zone. ¡°Well what do we have here¡­.?¡± Opening the armory door, he found several sets of weapons neatly arranged and placed in separate corners. Including, the ship''s full stock of black powder and dynamite. ''Bingo ¡­''. Hence, he successfully transferred half of Zuko''s black powder and dynamite inventory to the prison hold, where the dead body was kept. Once he was done, he lit the fuse and left to escape. An explosion in the Prison Hold of such magnitude would be difficult to ignore, attracting all the attention. When the explosion took place, Luca opened the hangar door and released one of the riverboats into sea. The others were sabotaged by him to make them unusable in a short term. For insurance purposes, he even destroyed the catapults to make sure they couldn''t fire at him after he escaped. Iroh getting caught in the explosion was purely an accident. So with the ship unable to move due to the explosion, Luca successfully escaped from the cruiser on the steam powered boat with several items he had gathered. Weapons, food, a map, a compass, explosives, and a scroll container that carried the sigil of the royal family. Apart from not wanting to waste Spirit Chi, these things were the reason Luca had followed Zuko without resistance. In this world, a map and a compass were essential for travelling. With his understanding of the plot, he had been planning his actions the moment Zuko first stepped into his line of sight. The riverboat was something he had to get at all costs. After all, the Fire Nation were searching for him within Earth kingdom territory. While true, it would be on land, not at sea. Traveling on water was much faster than on the back of a Komodo dragon. With his previous pace, it would take more than a week to ride to the Mining Village. Now, only two days had passed and he was almost there. It would take some time for Zuko to repair his cruiser before gaining motion. Even if he did, chances are that Zuko would not reveal that he had ever seen him, let alone captured him. After all, he already lost the avatar. If word spread that a fire nation rebel also escaped from his grasp, then Zuko would become more of a laughingstock than he already was. Nobody in their right minds would publicize their shame, so Zuko would try his best to keep this matter under wraps. As for turning back to chase after him? Luca and the Avatar were heading in two different directions. The Winter Solstice was tomorrow. Two days had passed and Zuko''s cruiser was nowhere to be seen. This confirmed his thoughts. After Zuko calmed down from his anger, there was no way he would give up chasing the avatar to apprehend Luca. Their level of importance was simply on different levels. This was why Luca felt assured. Either Zuko''s ship still hadn''t been fixed yet, it had sunk, or he had resumed his hunt for Aang. Chasing him simply wasn''t part of the options. So the Fire Nation prince could only swallow this grudge, document it down, and look for an opportunity to seek revenge in the future. Hence, before the Fire Nation realized he was no longer on land, he would already be past the mining village and heading towards Omashu. Slipping right through their noses before they could even react. Preliminary freedom was practically beckoning to him already. All of this hinged on the fact that he successfully escaped from Zuko''s ship while making sure the banished prince couldn''t or wouldn''t pursue him. However, Luca wasn''t out of the woods yet. There were several fire nation outposts between here and Omashu. By this time, those outposts had probably received word that he was heading in their direction. However, they would be looking for him on land. Sending search parties to patrol colonial territory. Luca had already slipped past the vast majority of them on the riverboat and would slip past the rest in a few hours at most. That, however, excluded one. The Fire Nation Prison Rig on the Mo Ce Sea. (This was the location of Episode 6, Book 1. The Earth bending prison where Haru and his father Tyro were imprisoned) The Prison Rig was the last outpost, miles away at sea from the mining village. Once Luca successfully got past that, then the most difficult part of his escape would be over. Meeting Fire Nation troops was still possible, but the intensity would decrease greatly. At this time, Aang and team Avatar had already freed the earth benders from the rig. With the prisoners liberated, there should technically be chaos within the base, but Zuko arrived later on, helping the warden achieve order and stabilizing the situation. In the series, he also found Katara''s lost necklace, which he would latter use to track down Aang sometime in the future before departing. Luca didn''t even realize this until last night when he was looking through the map he had stole..... Borrowed from him. In the days that followed, he chased the avatar until eventually encountering the eagle hawk that led him to Luca. The point being, order should have returned to the prison rig now. With word of his escape dispatched by Messenger hawks, There was a high chance that the rig would be on alert. After all, he didn''t have a cruiser and a lone riverboat was bound to attract attention. This was his last obstacle. To deal with this, Luca could only come up with one solution. Successfully disguise himself as a member of the Fire Nation to be granted passage. As for how he was going to do that? The panel disappeared, prompting Luca to take a look at what he was wearing. Uniform. That''s right, the Imperial Firebender Uniform he had taken hadn''t been thrown away yet. At the moment, he was fully clothed in it, save for the helmet that was put aside for now. Luca''s plan was simple. He was going to Impersonate an Imperial Firebender. Chapter 19 Chi Manipulation It couldn''t be helped. As long as nothing unexpected happened, then his small riverboat would definitely be stopped by patrolling Fire Navy cruisers. Once his identity was discovered, he would either be captured or killed. The only way he could smoothly pass through was to fake his identity as an imperial Firebender on a mission given by the Fire Lord himself. The status of Imperial Firebenders were high in the Military. On par with generals leading armies. As guards trained to protect royalty, they could only be commanded by royals. If one was assigned a task by Fire Lord Ozai, then even the generals had to obey their commands and assist them in any way possible. Their status reminder Luca of a movie he had seen before transversing. Jason Statham ¡­. The Beekeeper ...... (For those of you who haven''t watched this, then you''re missing out. Best action movie of 2024 so far in my opinion) So long as there were no unexpected circumstances, then his plan was highly likely to succeed. As for how he was going to convince them of his role...... Luca took out a small canister he had taken from Zuko''s ship. Within that canister was a scroll that carried the sigil of the royal family tied with a black ribbon. The contents of the scroll itself was completely blank, but it didn''t matter. As long as this sigil was shown, those in power would immediately recognize what it was. As for the ribbon ..... Different colors were used to indicate the importance of the message it was attached to. These two added together was equivalent to an imperial decree of the highest order. Unless they sensed something wrong, then Luca''s exit would be guaranteed. The scroll, ribbon and royal sigil was found in Iroh''s study. Although retired, the old general had considerable influence. Plus he wasn''t banished. Hence he was fully capable of utilizing the royal sigil for events that wouldn''t have a great impact on the Fire Nation. If Luca had to take a guess, this was probably Ozai''s way of appeasing his brother just to make sure Iroh wouldn''t have any second thoughts of fighting for the throne. Iroh was the firstborn son, so despite Ozai being king, many people in the Fire Nation still viewed him as the rightful ruler of the Fire Nation. As a son with equal ..... No, higher right than his younger brother, all he needed to do was challenge Ozai to an Agni Kai for the throne and win. Easier said than done but still. Unfortunately, he preferred to live as a leisurely uncle. Zuko certainly didn''t have this privilege. Taking a good look, Luca finally turned his gaze away from the spotless uniform. Taking out a map, he rolled it on the floor and estimated his exact location. ''..... Here¡­.''. He thought while placing his hand on a specific point. ''¡­. But it doesn''t mark where exactly the Prison rig is ¡­. I can''t estimate my time of arrival ¡­.''. Unlike what he expected, the map didn''t clearly mark locations where Fire Nation bases were located. Honestly, he should have expected such. After all, who would mark where all there outposts were located on a map? What if it fell into the wrong hands? ''Ahhh, so they were guarding against people like me''. So Luca could only draw inferences from his understanding of the series. ''I could go around them ¡­.''. Luca discovered this through the map. If he was lucky enough not to encounter any patrol ships, he could make a curve towards the southern air temple, take a roundabout to the edge of the southern water tribe, and move towards the earth kingdom from there, bypassing the dangers know as the fire nation. ''But It isn''t feasible. Traveling at sea isn''t safe''. Still, he shook his head and denied this possibility. There were a lot of problems in doing this. Sure, he would bypass one danger and as a result, expose himself to countless others. Forget about Fire Navy ships, there were also pirates, gigantic sea serpents, rocky craters, icebergs, whirlpools, underwater currents, other deep sea creatures and worst of all, storms. His small riverboat would get submerged underwater. Since this possibility was given up, Luca could only turn his attention to the next priority. The wind blew past the riverboat, bringing alongside it, the small of the ocean to his nostrils. Shiing! The sound of a blade scrapping against its metal scabbard collar resounded. Gazing into his own reflection, Luca looked at the unsheathed sword with slight pondering. ''Stats''. ........ Personal Perks: Density Shifting, Permanent Chi Absorption, Chi Manipulation: 186, Mastered abilities: Stealth: 16, Blademanship: 16, Hand To Hand Combat: 13, Poison Mastery: 17, Disguise:16, Tool Creation: 15, Marksmanship: 16, Lock picking: 15, Earth Kingdom Culture: 16, Interrogation: 17, Battle Instinct: 14, Evasion and Escape: 16, Regeneration: 10 ....... ''¡­. My perks so far have proven quite useful. With chi absorption granting me energy and density shifting saving my life on many occasions. It''s my main skill. But currently, I don''t have enough chi to come and go as I please ¡­.''. The chi of a regular Firebender was somewhere around a hundred. It could be more or less, while an imperial firebender was more than four times that amount. From the looks of it, his current Chi capacity of 800+ quite literally surpassed 95 ¡ª 99% of the world''s population. Yet despite having the same amount that could support benders through prolonged battles, he still suffered from Chi deficiency. If he had to fight an army, then he could only guarantee ten seconds of invincibility. Even against a small group of benders, he would struggle greatly on the premise of conservation. Luca knew his advantages, disadvantages, and total combat prowess well. Lack of Chi made density shifting flawed, unreliable and prevented it from becoming his main battle perk. The reason why he had not been captured was because no one knew of this. He wasn''t fooled by his recent success in escaping. His only advantage was the fact that no one knew his abilities.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Those who did were already in the afterlife. But Luca didn''t think he could hide it forever. Once his information was exposed, and properly analyzed, then the enemies coming after him would have targeted tactics. All they needed to do was block his escape route and rain fire on him from afar. Once ten seconds passed, he would be turned into a crispy barbecue. Sooner or later, this would eventually happen. Hence, a solution was needed. The obvious answer was more chi, but how much more would be enough? It was impossible to absorb that much anytime soon. However, that wasn''t the only option available. The other option was actually easier to accomplish. Increase his attacking capability. When selecting his perks, Density shifting was always positioned as a lifesaving skill. And it still was. Ever since appearing in this world, he had only used it to for attacking once when he killed the imperial firebender on Zuko''s cruiser. Even then, his broken arm proved that using it as a means of attack in the short term was not ideal. Other times were simply using it to avoid danger. This was where the problem laid. Insufficient Firepower. Benders were the mainstream fighters in this world. In a head on confrontation, only advanced martial artists could defeat a bender of any element. This basically included Ty Lee who had incredible acrobatic capabilities, lightning fast reflexes and Chi blocking, Piandao with his swordsmanship and fighting experience, the Kyoshi warriors with their metal fans, trained physiques and combat arts passed down by avatar Kyoshi herself, the Yuyan archers with their incredible precision and skill with the bow and arrow, Mai with her ability with throwing weapons, Jet with his double hook swords and Luca himself. All above-mentioned individuals were capable of defeating benders in a one-on-one scenario. Some could defeat a dozen or more, but Luca wasn''t in that group. With any weapon, be it swords, daggers or arrows, he was confident of defeating one, two, or three Firebenders with a lot of effort. More? Yeah, that would require Density shifting and the element of surprise. Honestly, Luca wasn''t sure he could defeat anyone in the above-mentioned group. Based on what he knew from the series, Jet and Mai weren''t his opponents. Ty Lee on the other hand? Yep, he would definitely have his ass handed to him without even landing a single blow. Luca could see this problem. Now, he was heavily reliant on density shifting in battle. As a Non-bender, he had no attacking means that could give him a true edge. Sometime from now, he would arrive at the prison rig filled with Fire Navy personnel. If the plan went haywire for some reason, then ten seconds of invincibility wasn''t going to cut it. As the famous saying goes, Attack is the best defense. His Chi reserves granted by perk number 2 weren''t enough for a prolonged battle with perk number 1. That''s where perk number 3 comes in. Luca turned his gaze from the sword to his hand. With nothing but a thought, the chi flowing within his arm in an orderly manner suddenly deviated from their movement patterns and flowed towards the palm of his hand. Under Luca''s gaze, wisps of Chi emerged from the pores of his hands, enveloping it completely. Chi Manipulation. All benders in this world utilized chi in combat. Guiding said energy to different parts of their body and releasing it enabled them to achieve the marvel that was elemental bending. Their ability to do so was a form of control. Using Chi to achieve the creation of fire, movement of wind, water, and earth. However, that was the limit. Bending was basically the usage of the present Chi within the body to interact with the outside world. In simpler terms, it was the usage of one''s life energy to control the elements. Chi was also known as Life energy and hence, Life energy was supposed to stay within the human body. Never before had humans been able to manifest it externally ...... Until today. A human being''s control of life energy in this world was basically fixed by the Lion turtles themselves. Luca however, had used what was left of his Perk Wish in exchange for increased ability to control his Chi. ¡°As much Chi control as it can give me .....¡±. Hence, leading to the current scene. Luca frowned slightly, feeling the metaphysical energy surrounding his palm. His thoughts moved, following which, the chi on his palm began to increase. Large amounts of ivory white chi emerged from his hand and spread in a forward line. However ...... It had barely spread two meters away before it began dissipating into thin air. Seeing this, Luca''s frown deepened. He stopped his actions and tried again. This time, his concentration was greater. The result was better, but barely three meters, it stopped again and likewise dissipated. ''¡­. After advancing a little more than three meters, it left the range of my control, hence me losing control of it ¡­.''. The experiment didn''t go exactly as he had hoped. Although he could externalize his Chi, he could hardly control it once it departed past a certain point. As Chi was made to be internal. After leaving him for a certain distance, it was no longer his to control. ''¡­ This is going to be harder than I thought ¡­.''. Having being an avid Naruto fan, Luca had extensive knowledge on the explanation of chakra control. Here, he was applying it to Chi, in hopes that due to their similarities in usage, they would work the same. And in fact, they did. As just like his previous actions, externalizing Chakra in Naruto at a great distance wasn''t really possible. Yet at the same time, they didn''t. Ninja''s could use Chakra to enhance their physical capabilities by a certain percentage at most. Tsunade''s chakra control and chakra quality was so impressive that she could weaponize it further to create large bursts of pure destructive power. (She is also physically strong, but that''s not the point of concentration) Chi in Avatar, however, couldn''t be externalized physically at all. This wasn''t due to the nature of Chi itself as Luca just proved, but due to the fact that human control over their own energy was quite limited compared to those in Naruto. As for why they couldn''t increase their physical prowess, Luca could only wait till he reached Wan Shi Tong''s library to verify. Was it the people or was it the nature of the life force itself? He didn''t know. But that aside ..... ''..... Just plainly releasing it won''t work. It''s too loose. Too light. However ......''. When Luca made his perk wish, Density shifting was for life-saving purposes. Permanent Chi Absorption was to supplement the high cost of the restrictions he placed on the former, while enhanced chi control was his idea for an attacking skill. His wish for enhanced chi control was a means for him to create what he wanted. By using the chi directly as a means of attack instead of elemental bending just in case he wasn''t granted an affinity. The initial results weren''t ideal. However, testing wasn''t over. With these thoughts, Luca stopped releasing his Chi and transferred the sword in his left hand to the right. - Blademanship: 16 - The light and skillful movements, the sword spun in his hand, attaching itself to him like an extra limb. ''..... It escapes my control because there is nothing that connects me to it but air. The air isn''t tangible and changes constantly. Maintaining a three meter hold is already a blessing. This sword on the other hand .....''. Once again, Chi manifested on the hand holding on to the weapon. With a slight thought, it enveloped the weapon within his possession and flowed from the first end to the other. Once again, he spun the sword while maintaining a constant output of Chi. This time, it didn''t dissipate with the wind. Seeing this, a slight smile made its way up his lips before turning into a full-blown grin. ''..... Now we''re getting somewhere .....''. His grip on the sword tightened, following which, he drew the sword back, infused a large amount of life energy and slashed towards the sea. An ivory white crescent of energy emerged from the sword and flew towards the sea surface. Bang! Splash! ........ Time elapsed on the river boat. At some point, Luca noticed a black spot in the middle of his open stat panel. Frowning, he dismissed the screen before him, leaving only the black spot in the distance within his vision. Binoculars were something he didn''t steal from Zuko''s cruiser. Nevertheless, he didn''t need it. He knew what the object in the distance was. Mo Ce Sea Prison Rig ..... After hours of drifting, he was finally here. Luca quickly took the fire helmet and put it on without hesitation. He would soon be noticed by people on the base. That was if he hadn''t been noticed already. Keeping the helmet on was essential for protection of his identity. The riverboat drew closer to the Fire Navy shipyard. It didn''t take long after, Luca saw a Fire Navy ship dispatch from the Prison rig, moving in his direction. Chapter 20 Earthbender Rebels The Mo Ce Sea Prison Rig was an offshore Fire Nation Prison and shipyard used for the internment of Earthbenders during the late stages of the hundred-year war. Prisoners were taken captive mainly for resisting fire nation rule in the Earth kingdom or attempting to perform bending in disallowed regions. Such internees were forced to build, repair and refuel ships for the Fire Nation that docked here while their imprisonment was indefinite. It was a towering, highly secure facility located several miles away from the coast of the earth kingdom, supported by multiple bars which elevated it above sea level. With the world''s ancient era and primitive technology still relying on swords and arrows, it was a marvel how they managed to build this structure at all. In the series, Aang and team Avatar carried out the first successful major prison revolt this place had ever experienced. Liberating the earthbenders from years of slavery. Decked out in an Imperial Firebender Uniform, Luca took a good look at the massive steel prison as his riverboat drew closer. ''¡­. Alright ¡­ Showtime ¡­.''. He took in a deep breath seeing the Fire Navy ship being dispatched in his direction. This was good. Meaning that they had no plans to fire at him, destroying his ride and himself in the process. At least, he hoped it was. It could also mean his identity had been discovered, and they were coming to apprehend him while laughing at his stupidity of handing himself over on a silver platter. ''¡­. Damn ¡­. Why am I thinking of this now?'' Luca could tell that all these random, unnecessary thoughts were as a result of his nervousness and fear. This was a common reaction within humans during tense situations that could result in incoherent speech, trembling, sweatiness and so on. Forget about his current situation, people would feel worse while being under circumstances way less intense. He resisted the urge to shake his head as he stood on the riverboat deck. Legs planted firm, hands behind his back, body posture straight and upright. This was it. The defining moment that decided whether he would leave this place smoothly or not. Hence, not knowing whether his every action was currently being scrutinized, he needed to give his best performance and display what he felt an Imperial Firebender should be like. Strong, imposing, commanding authority, and carrying an oppressive presence. Like an experienced actor in an audition, Luca mentally prepared himself to perform for the judges currently approaching. His hand placed not far from the Longsword strapped diagonally behind his waist. Ready to attack the moment things went south. The sound of ship at sea resounded through the air as Luca''s boat was covered in a large shadow. ''¡­ Yep, much bigger than Zuko''s cruiser¡­''. The thought was fleeting as a ladder bridge was pushed downwards. Clang! It touched the river boat with a loud metal collision. Luca remained unperturbed. The Canister holding the fake scroll was in his right hand as he waited. Under his gaze, they appeared. Fire Navy officers, three of them to be precise, with two holding spear weapons with helmets that revealed their faces. The other stood at the forefront of the group, dressed similarly to them, but his head sported no helmet, but long gray hair tied up at the center of his head and falling back towards his neck. The other half moving forward was completely bald. Quite similar to Kay-Fon (Elder Wu) back in Senlin village. Come to think of it, even Iroh sported a hairstyle completely alike with this old man who looked to be in his early fifties before him. Was this a general Fire Nation military trend? Thud! Thud! The sound of footsteps hitting against metal fell into his ears as the three boarded the riverboat. Luca''s hand moved towards his sword handle ..... Walking towards him, they stopped a good distance away and then ..... Lowered their posture for a bow. That''s right. Three fire Navy soldiers bowing towards him. Seeing this, Luca''s hand relaxed and half his hanging heart with it. ¡°It is an honor to be in your presence, Sir¡±. The man in the lead uttered respectfully. ¡°I am Warden Jin ...... Overseer of this Shipyard ¡­.¡±. He said while standing upright. A trace of cautiousness and anxiety flashed through his eyes, but he kept it hidden as best he could. ¡°I''m aware¡±. A deep, distorted voice resounded from the man in bright red uniform. His tone curt and composed. ¡°The personal guard of the royal family and the Fire Lord are welcome guests anytime. What brings you to these waters¡±. He asked, gesturing with his hand raised. ¡°... That is none of your concern¡­". The following answer made the Warden''s face change. The expression grew unsightly for a split second before returning to normal. ¡°It is nothing that you or your men should worry about. As my stop is not your Prison rig. I''m merely passing through to the Fire army based at the Omashu outpost¡±. Luca''s plain voice fell. ¡°Really ¡­.?¡± The eyes of the warden narrowed. Following which, the moved to take a look around the riverboat. ¡°Forgive me asking, but ¡­. Is it just you?¡± Riverboats were mainly used to travel within narrow waterways like rivers, not to sail the seas. That was what Fire Navy cruisers were for. Imperial Firebenders were tasked with protecting the royal family. Hence, they would usually only make appearances when Fire Nation royalty were present. An imperial Firebender appearing without a member of the royal family around was one thing. And sailing towards the Earth kingdom alone on a riverboat was another. These two anomalies alone were enough to create a great deal of suspicion. After all, why would he sail a riverboat on the seas instead of a standard Cruiser? And why was there no crew? The Warden''s frown deepened even more as he examined the surroundings. Seeing this, Luca''s falling heart went back up. Sure enough, it wasn''t that easy. ¡°Yes, it is. A crew is unnecessary as my orders are to work alone¡±. Following which, he took out the canister from his back, bringing it to their notice. The Warden''s pupils shrank at the sight before him. ¡°The sigil of the royal family ¡­.¡±. ¡°Indeed¡±. Luca smoothly returned the canister behind him, not letting the Warden''s gaze linger for too long. ¡°My ¡­. Apologies¡±. The warden bowed again, his back soaked with cold sweat. Prying into matters of the royal family? What the hell was he thinking. The sigil gave this cruel and arrogant warden a wake-up call. He was just a warden managing a prison rig. Not to mention the big fuss that just happened a few days ago, one wrong misstep could plunge him into an abyss. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Please forgive me if my inquisitiveness offends you¡±. Fire Lord Ozai was not a benevolent leader. If he did something that stepped out of line, the officer before him could report this to the Fire Lord. It might be nothing more than a mere mention, but it could destroy his life''s work if Ozai decided he was in the mood to want to do something about it. ¡°I just assumed that for someone of your position, a messenger hawk would be sent out to inform us of your arrival¡±. ¡°A messenger hawk isn''t needed. I never planned to stop at your shipyard, as what I carry is of great importance to the Fire Nation''s advancement on the conquest of the Earth kingdom. It''s release into the wrong hands would be disastrous¡±. ¡°Yes ¡­. Yes ¡­ Of course. How inconsiderate of me ¡­.¡±. Seeing the warden nodding like a pecking chicken, Luca remembered some information from the series. Apparently, this overseer was a proud and arrogant man. Quite cruel to his subordinates and the Earth benders he supervised over, with quite a mouth on him. However, he begged for mercy when he was defeated and Tyro was about to drop him into the sea. Saying he couldn''t swim. A typical coward who feared the strong and bullied the weak. ¡°So ¡­ Warden¡­". His emphasis on the word ¡°warden¡± was heavy with a bit of sarcasm within it. ¡°How long do you plan to keep me here? Rest assured that I will be sure to report to the Fire Lord if my delay causes the Fire Nation''s advance to be inconvenienced in any way¡±. ¡°That .....¡±. This was the killer move. Luca''s words fell, and the Warden''s face turned pale. ¡°Of course. Forgive my insolence¡±. The warden uttered while cupping his hands and bowing once more. Luca remained unresponsive, maintaining his act. ''¡­. He must be displeased .....''. The warden thought, seeing he didn''t reciprocate the customary bow. Then he turned to his soldiers. The meek, cowardly expression suddenly morphed into something ferocious. ¡°What are you still standing there for? A written note? Move¡±. The soldiers similarly bowed and hurriedly moved up the ramp, to depart. Seeing his men flee, the old warden quickly regained his composure, turning back to the imperial Firebender and uttered with a flattering smile. ¡°Is there anything I can do for you before you depart, sir?¡± ¡°...¡±. Silence reigned on the deck. Receiving no response, the warden felt a hint of embarrassment coming up for the awkward silence. ¡°I¡­". ¡°Yes. You can answer one question for me¡±. ¡°Ah? Yes, of course. Whatever might that be?¡± At the moment under the helmet, a deep frown had made its way onto Luca''s features. He raised his hand, pointed into the distance and spoke. ¡°What ..... Is that?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± The warden was dumbfounded. Following the direction, he saw Luca''s finger pointing into the distance. ¡°I don''t...... Wait ¡­.¡±. The Warden''s eyes widened as he got a clearer view. In the distance, four black dots could be seen moving towards their direction. The time was getting late in the day and the sky was already plotting its course for nighttime. The sun shone brightly on large pitch-black machines with red flags at the top of their tower masts. On the sea, there was only one thing that sailed on these waters. ''¡­Fire Navy cruisers ¡­.''. Luca thought inwardly. This was why his frown was prevalent. Four cruisers were moving in this direction for unknown reasons, leaving Luca feeling slightly nervous. ¡°..... Those are ¡­.¡±. The Warden''s words were interrupted. ¡°Fire Navy ships. Are you expecting company Warden?¡± Luca asked, hoping that was the case. Instead, he saw the old man''s expression crumple. ''Wait. Why .....''? Before the ominous premonition in his heart was fully formed. ¡°Sir! We have trouble!¡± The ship captain of the cruiser before them suddenly ran to the side and yelled loudly. ¡°What is going on? Who are they?¡± The warden yelled back angrily. ¡°It''s the prisoners. They''ve come back¡±. ¡°What!¡± The warden exclaimed in disbelief as he rushed back up the stair ladder to the ship. Running on deck, he rushed towards the captain, roughly grabbed the spyglass in his possession and looked into the distance. The first thing that came into sight was the stern looking expression of the head prisoner who lead the rest of the Earth benders out of the prison rig a few days ago under the Avatar''s influence. Tyro. Yet before he could utter any words, he saw something else that made his heart sink. On the deck of the ship, was earth. Massive amounts of it. These earth benders didn''t just come back, they came back with enough ammo for a big battle. The Entire rig was made of metal. And metal bending at this point wasn''t even a thing yet. Since there was no earth for them to bend to their advantage, then they simply improvised and brought their own. All through the same fire nation cruisers they used to escape their imprisonment in the first place. ¡°Ready!¡± ¡°Ha!¡± Tyro''s words were answered by a large battle cry, as the earthbenders on deck immediately entered a firm stance. They moved their hands and a large amount of coal that had been carried back through the shop moved under their command. On each Fire Navy ship, dozens of earthbenders in groups of three to four stood facing each other while channelling the coal. ¡°Be strong, my brothers and sisters!¡± Tyro yelled at the top of his lungs. His voice so loud that it could be heard by others on different ships despite the roaring of rushing water. ¡°A few days ago, we struck back at these Ash makers and let them know the real strength hidden within our bones¡±. He reminded them how Avatar Aang, Katara and Sokka helped them to escape the Mo Ce sea Prison Rig. ¡°Today. We attack them right at their doorstep, just like they did to us so many years ago¡±. With their combined efforts, each group worked together as they bent the earth material into one large boulder hovering over their heads. ¡°This is the moment. The moment we take back what''s always been ours and drive out these invaders from our lands¡±. The ships grew closer. Meanwhile, the Fire cruiser of the Warden had already docked at the Prison Rig Shipyard. ¡°The enemy is approaching. All men to your battle stations¡±. The warden roared thunderously as officers began rushing in all directions. These earth kingdom bastards dared to come back after escaping. He would certainly make sure they paid with their lives. Or so he thought. ¡°Warden!¡± However, a deep, distorted call that wasn''t so loud came from behind the old man, causing him to freeze in his tracks. Turning around, he saw the ¡°Royal Guard¡± standing at a distance while looking at him. ¡°Your shipyard is under attack?¡± Although the voice gave off no hint, Warden Jin was sure that the man before him was gloomy. In truth, he was right. At the moment, Luca''s face behind the mask wasn''t the slightest bit good-looking. It was almost there. He had almost gained smooth passage. Now what the hell was all this about? Although he already had his own guesses, he didn''t want to believe it. Unfortunately...... ¡°We .....¡±. The warden uttered with some difficulty. Luca''s eyes narrowed even further. ¡°Who are they?¡± ¡°.... The escaped prisoners¡±. ¡°Escaped?¡± ¡°There was a revolt a few days ago. ¡­. All prisoners managed to escape thanks to the intervention of the Avatar¡±. The warden immediately gave a brief description of the events, pushing out the Avatar''s involvement to shoulder a large part of his incompetence. Perhaps he feared that he as an imperial firebender would go tattletale to Ozai. Luca already knew all this, and with his false identity, cared little for the Warden''s attempt to cover up. It was briefly stated in the series that Haru, Tyro and the rest of the earth benders formed a resistance to battle the Fire Nation. They were there alongside others at the battle on the day of black sun. (The eclipse episode) It never showed how they got to that point. Now, Luca was discovering how. Apparently, after Tyro, Haru and the rest escaped, they returned not long after Zuko left the rig and attacked it. Judging from the fact that they still appeared in book 3, then it was clear that their efforts didn''t go to waste. In the original fight, the Firebender''s had no advantage and were easily suppressed by their captives. Most likely, this outpost, the warden, as well as his soldiers, would be defeated. Deducing this, a burst of annoyance welled up in Luca''s heart. ''...... What bad timing''. And so he turned away, sparing the old man no further heed as his gaze moved to the sea where the Fire Navy ships drew closer and closer. ¡°Hold!¡± Tyro shouted as the ships drew closer to the rig. ¡°Ready the catapults!¡± Large catapult contraptions were hastily pushed out from the prison rig in an attempt to make an unprepared defense. ¡°Hold!¡± The old earthbender had his eyes narrow. Everyone''s hearts, minds, and limbs were tense. Just when they reached a certain distance ¡­. ¡°Release!¡± Tyro, Haru and two other earthbenders besides him simultaneously swung their arms forward. The giant rock condensed above their heads flew towards the prison rig at rapid speed. There were four ships with dozens of earthbenders. Each group simultaneously released their attacks towards the shipyard. Fire Nation soldiers raised heir heads to see massive rocks flying towards them at rapid speeds. "Take cover!" Bang!" Chapter 21 Wrong Choice The sun shone high in the sky, while down below on a prison rig of the Fire Nation, clear chaos had erupted. Large rocks shot towards the metal structure, causing widespread devastation wherever they landed. Fire Nation soldiers screamed, with those capable of bending shooting flames at the massive rocks in an attempt to destroy them before they landed. Others who couldn''t, took to their heels and ran for cover. ¡°Oh my spirits .......¡±. A running Fire navy officer turned his head briefly only to see a large shoulder fall over him. He exclaimed, only finishing his words halfway before he was squashed by a giant rock. Facing the unexpected attack of the earthbenders, no one was prepared hence the chaos that unfolded. ¡°Retreat. Get to your stations ......¡±. Warden Jin yelled while shooting a stream of fire at an incoming rock. ¡°Everyone, take cover inside the rig. That''s an order¡±. The Warden yelled at the top of the lungs while backing away at a rapid pace. Anyone who paid attention to his actions would see that he began retreating long before he gave the order. His actions clearly represented his cowardly nature and his goal to keep himself from harm''s way. ¡°Abandon the catapults. Secure the rig, defend the entrance. Don''t let those boulder bouncers get inside¡±. Hearing the words of the warden, the soldiers immediately abandoned their siege weapons and began retreating immediately. The four captured ships docked at the shipyard, following which the invaders rushed out to press their advantage. Fire Nation soldiers who hadn''t retreated in time had no choice but to be entangled with the militia who comprised not just of Earthbenders but also regular people and skilled fighters as well However, due to the overall retreat, the soldiers of the Fire nation were just too few. Facing the numerous invaders, the few who hadn''t retreated were quickly subdued, defeated or outright killed. Blood was spilled as earth and fire were tossed in all directions. ¡°Ugh ..... Argh!¡± A firebender groaned in pain as his body was enveloped with stone. Each one pressing against his bones and weighing heavily upon him. With his hands and feet subdued, the Firebender had already lost his ability to resist as only his head remained out of the Earth trap. In the distance, Haru could be seen with his center of gravity lowered while assuming a bending posture. His two hands were outstretched, one several inches in front of the other as his palms tightened into fists. The stronger his grip, the tighter the rocks on the subdued fire bender. Haru''s actions were meant to incapacitate the enemy until he could no longer pose any threat even if he was released from his bindings. Crack! Crack? ¡°Arghhh!¡± The sound of breaking bones resounded followed by the soldiers screams. Haru continued with a cold face. ''I''m sorry ..... But this is the best I can do''. Years of suffering were fully vented during the initial prison break. Now, his goals were much bigger than simply freeing his people. His father, Tyro had clearly stated their purpose before they came here. To put an end to this prison''s operations for good. The Mo Ce Sea Prison rig wasn''t just a place to imprison earthbenders. Instead, it was a strategical location that held great importance to the fire nation itself. Imprisoning Earthbenders was just a side benefit. The true value behind this place was the Shipyard itself. Similar to Ketu Harbor, all Naval cruisers in the surroundings could come here for supplies, repairs and refueling before moving on their way. Making it a major stronghold with great advantages during the hundred-year war. The fact that all ships from here to the west of Omashu refueled and restocked on food and weapons proved this fact. As long as this prison rig was taken from Fire Nation hands, the effect wouldn''t be as simple as destroying a base, it could cripple an entire line, halting their advancements to conquer the Earth kingdom and inflicting severe losses. This was no longer about revenge anymore. This was about sticking it to the Fire Nation right at the point where it hurts the most. The night before this, Tyro had come to his son and advised him to stay behind. To wait for their return instead of involving himself in this war. The reason was simple. Unlike the last time, the priority was simply escaping with as many of their people as they could. This time, much more was at stake. It wasn''t an escape anymore but a head on confrontation. ¡°This is not something to be trifled with Haru ¡­". That night, Tyro uttered, his face much more stern than ever before. ¡°The last time, we had the Avatar and his friends to help. Now, it''s just us. We can''t afford to be careless. One slip up, and it can mean the end for many of us¡±. ¡°Even more reason for me to fight alongside you¡±. ¡°You do not understand¡­.¡±. Tyro released a heavy sigh. He knew his son couldn''t understand. No child could see their family go to war and stay behind while they clearly had power to join in. That sense of responsibility stayed within them. Making them stubborn, adamant and arrogant. Iroh''s son was just like this. After graduating, he applied to join the army against Iroh''s wishes. Even when he did, the old general had tried his best to keep him away from the general conflict for years. Ultimately, Lu Ten died. Iroh was left heartbroken, and Ozai ascended the throne. Tyro was right. Haru didn''t understand the dangers of war. The person discussing happily with you a last night might end up getting blasted into bits a few meters away from you. It was horrible Even the best benders could die in war. No father would happily send their own child to their uncertain doom. Tyro explained to Haru clearly. If he wanted to come back alive, then just his bending wouldn''t be enough. He needed to prepare himself, not just to fight but also to kill. At that moment, Haru''s mind went blank for a second. ¡°.... In this war, there are only two options. Kill, or be killed¡±. The old man stroked his white beard, sighed heavily and stood up from his chair. ¡°If you want to fight alongside us, then you must be ready. Be ready to take a life without hesitation if the situation calls for it. Last time was a battle my son, this time ¡­. There will be fresh blood spilled on that metal rig ¡­.¡±. He said these words to him, not to scare Haru out of his choice but to let him know what he was getting into. These were troubled times. One had to know how to defend themselves. Pretending to be a saint would simply get you killed. If Haru didn''t make it back alive, then Tyro would be haunted until the day of his death. A famous saying, personal experience was the best teacher. Even though his father''s words had bothered him, Haru''s teenage heart wasn''t overly shaken. Until now ....... At the moment, the breath of death filled the air as he saw both Fire Nation and Earth kingdom warriors engage in gruesome combat. He had seen a non bender skilled with the sword being set aflame. His agony filled screams resounded, shrieks filling the as he endured the pain of his flesh roasting. Haru quickly turned his gaze away. Only now did he feel the impact of what his father said to him. The smell of blood and gruesome display of death ...... It was nauseating. If not for the fact that he was frenzied with adrenaline, Haru wasn''t sure he would be able to hold his lunch within his churning stomach. Which brings back to where he was now. The man before him was an enemy, a deadly firebending threat. Yet when faced with the choice of a quick kill, the young Earthbender could feel his usually steady hands trembling. The thought of taking a life for the first time didn''t sit well, and all his father''s advice rang in his head, but he failed to fully execute them. It was at that moment that he knew ..... He wasn''t ready. He wasn''t ready for war, he wasn''t ready for such a level of conflict ¡­. He wasn''t ready to kill. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. But it was too late to regret. Now, he was already here. Hence, the young Earthbender could only improvise. By using his bending, he would break every bone in the Firebender''s body, hence eliminating the threat while not killing him. His idea was good, but since time immemorial, it was much easier to kill someone than capture them alive. The two to three seconds that could have been used to simply kill was elongated as he struggled to incapacitate his enemy without killing him. This action made him stagnant, and left him as an open target. On a higher platform, an archer selecting targets just so happened to lock onto the motionless Haru. Not everyone had the skills of the Yuyan Archers. As a fixed target was easier to hit, the archer steadied his bow, took aim and fired at the unsuspecting lad with high precision. Suuuuiii! The sound of an object piercing through the air was drowned out in the battle as the projectile fired towards the teenager, aiming to take his life while he was still showing mercy to his opponent. Unfortunately..... Clank! A wall of solid earth rose right beside him, blocking the path as the arrow inserted itself into it. Haru was alarmed. Turning his head to see a small wall with an arrow inserted into it. A chill immediately rushed up his spine as his heart began pounding from immense fear. Due to his loss of focus, the earth he controlled went haywire and pressed together with extreme force. Squelch! The screaming officer went silent as his spine was crushed by a tremendous force. The impact caused his bones to shatter, following which, bone spurs pierced in different directions, destroying his lungs and one piercing through his heart. Alarmed again, Haru turned to the Firebender only to see his eyes lifeless, blood coming out of his mouth and leaking from the rocks. ''..... I ¡­. What have I ¡­.''. ¡°Haru!¡± Tyro roared in fury, snapping the boy out of his daze. ¡°This is a battle. Focus¡±. The earth wall broke apart. Following which, small chunks of earth wrapped themselves around the body of the arrow. The spun around, the arrow spinning with him, and pushed his arms diagonally upward. The stone covered arrow shot into the distance like a guided missile, piercing the archer right through the face. ¡°Father ...... I ¡­". Haru trembled. ¡°This is war, son. Get yourself together¡±. Tyro uttered solemnly. ¡°If you can''t kill them, then throw them into the sea. It will free the load off your mind¡±. After saying this, he rushed forward to aid in the advance. Squelch! A short sword pierced through the body of an Earth kingdom soldier. Blood flowed from his chest as his body fell limply. With a gash, the sword was drawn out, and the male fell to the floor, losing all signs of life. Dressed in an Imperial uniform, Luca frowned heavily. His heart in slight turmoil. This was the sixth man he had killed since the ensuing battle began. However, compared to when he killed regular Fire Nation soldiers, killing these guys wasn''t as burden free as it had always been. He turned his gaze and examined the situation around him. The Fire Nation officers were retreating slowly while maintaining an output of offense. Looking behind, it could be seen that they were going towards the inner rig. Just from their actions, Luca could tell what the warden was planning to do. Barricade. That''s right, he was going to hide inside. With the sneak attack of the earth kingdom militia, The Warden immediately felt that fighting desperately was a bad idea. Instead, he would retreat with his soldiers and hold the Earthbenders outside. But with the speed at which these guys were pursuing after them, perhaps even the barricade might not work. Luca didn''t know how this would go down, but he knew that things would only go one way. The Fire Nation would secure the rig, perhaps barricading them at the gate. If not, then they could only secure the upper levels while conceding the lower levels to the invaders. Following which, a battle for the platform would ensue, with the original owners of the shipyard trapped inside like cornered dogs. And that wasn''t even the worst part. No matter which one happened, Luca would be done for. Because now, he was dressed as Fire Nation, and a high-ranking one at that. Once this failed, he would also be forced to retreat like a cornered dog, held up within this rig until he found a chance to escape or everyone else was slaughtered but him. ¡°.... You damn warden¡±. Thrusting his blade to get rid of the excess dripping blood, Luca cursed under his breath. The warden was too cowardly to fight to the death. If he had done so, Luca could silently sneak away amidst the chaos. Although even that wasn''t too promising. After all, they were on the sea. He couldn''t get far on a small Riverboat, and a fire Navy cruiser was too big to sail on his own. He would soon be hunted by these rebels and another battle would follow. But if Luca followed into the rig like them, then things would get much more complicated. It was supposed to be a quick move through this area. Staying for a prolonged period wasn''t an option. After all, imagined authority could only get so far. Luca wasn''t a firebender. Hence it would surely draw suspicion at some point why he never attacked with bending. Similar flaws might pop up if he was cooped inside with the warden and others. Technically, as a Fire Nation rebel being hunted, his enemies should be the warden and his men while the allies should be the Earth kingdom rebels. But if things played out in the worst direction, perhaps he might not even have any allies and become an enemy of both sides. This couldn''t be allowed. Squelch! Moving two steps forward, his moved to the side slightly, narrowly dodging a spear attack by a hair''s breadth and swung his short sword. The attacker was punctured through the head, falling to the floor as the blade was pulled out. ¡°Stat panel¡±. The screen appeared once again on his retina. Luca skipped everything else and took a look at his Chi capacity. His mind constantly made calculations as he moved forward. ''..... Alright, let''s hope this works without excess consumption. If not, the loss will be too great''. He said so with his eyes fixing on the Spirit Chi stat. Luca moved towards the area of the warden. There, was the center of main conflict. Numerous flying flames shot forward from the warden and his guards as they attacked relentlessly while retreating. ¡°Damn Earth peasants, you dare come back here after escaping¡±. He roared angrily while dodging a rock thrown at him. On the other side stood Tyro and his group of earthbenders. ¡°We did. Have a problem?¡± The light skinned old man carried a surprisingly strong build. ¡°This ends now, Warden. We are taking this base. Surrender while you still can, or we won''t show mercy¡±. ¡°I''d rather die before submitting to you mongrels¡±. The cowardly warden bit back while in Sozin''s stance (A fire bending standing style) ¡°Hmph!¡± Tyro snorted. ¡°Your funeral. Earthbenders......¡±. As he opened his mouth to tell attack ..... ¡°Enough!¡± At the that moment, three throwing knives flew out from the distance towards Tyro''s group. - Marksmanship: 16 - The attack was completely unexpected, catching tyro''s group off guard. But a bender''s sixth sense was prominent. Especially for those who had been in battle. Squelch! Blood spilled on the floor as a result. ¡°Who dares......¡±. The warden turned and spoke, almost roaring when his words were caught in his throat. Thud! Thud! Thud. ¡°Sir, we .....¡±. ¡°Stand down Warden. Your incompetence honestly amazes me¡±. The figure in imperial uniform strode in from the sides. His words left the warden tongue-tied as he couldn''t utter a rebuttal. Tyro held his shoulder that had been grazed by the weapon. Blood trickling down and staining his clothes red, yet he paid no heed. Instead, his eyes were fixed on Luca, currently disguised before him. ¡°Hmph, so a big shot''s here, huh?" He didn''t know what the fancy uniform represented. But from the way the warden was scolded and didn''t reply and the fact that he now stood in front of the group, it was clear who was in charge. The four Earthbenders at his sides all raised their stance vigilantly. Ready to attack at a moment''s notice. ¡°Your actions and guts are admirable, old man ¡­. You have my respect .....¡±. The distorted voice came from the man wearing the helmet. ¡°.... But I have no time for this. Now, leave. As I would rather not have to kill you¡±. Fire and earth were still being thrown around. ¡°What?¡± At first, Tyro though he had heard wrong. Following which, his face darkened. ¡°You guys sure have a lot of arrogance, don''t you. You think we''ll retreat because of a few throwing knives¡±. ¡°If you don''t listen to me, those will be the least of your problems. Gather your people, leave this base and never come back. Go ...... While I still allow it¡±. ¡°Sir ¡­ You ..... What are you ¡­.¡±. Warden Jin raised his voice in opposition. ¡°I said enough, Warden¡±. Luca, however, shut him down before he could finish. Inwardly, his mind was going through a difficult struggle. Tyro, on the other end, had his dark face grow darker. ¡°Never¡±. He didn''t utter another word and responded directly with actions. Out of the four other earthbenders, two were injured with Luca''s throwing knives alongside Tyro. Nevertheless, the old man ignored the injury and began to earthbend with the other two who were still capable of fighting. The coal condensed to form three medium-sized rocks in front of the three of them. Then they shot out at rapid pace. Shiing! The sound of a blade scraping against the scabbard resounded as Luca drew his sword from his waist. Pure Ivory white chi flooded into it immediately as he swung towards the three rocks incoming. With one slash, the sword cut through the rocks like a knife through peanut butter, slicing all three of them in half and changing their trajectory. Bang! The rocks deviated and flew in different directions. ¡°.... Wrong choice ¡­.¡±. It was imperceptible, but Luca voice grew slightly heavier. But no one noticed. At that moment, the quiet, unmoving Spirit chi resting at the bottom of his abdomen suddenly began to stir. Following which, small amounts of it began to spread out in all directions. Spirit Chi: 1294 -1 -4 -2 -2 Under Luca''s will, Spirit Chi began flowing through his veins, muscles, bones and an unprecedented amount of strength surged through his whole being. He had spent four hours at Sea developing new ways to use his Chi. Well ....... He found some. He took a step forward ..... Then, he disappeared on the spot. Squelch! At that moment, Five arms were detached from the body. Chapter 22 Chi Slash Chirp! Chirp! Chirp! Chirp Trickle, Trickle, Trickle, Trickle ..... The sounds of nature permeated the atmosphere from all around. Rushing water, chirping birds ..... The sky was dark. However, the cold nightfall wasn''t befalling. Quite the contrary, the skies looked to be brightening instead of getting darker as one looked upwards to appreciate the fall of morning dew. Dawn. The earth kingdom had a vast expanse of land. Many places barren and unfruitful with orange soil like the area where mining village was situated. In others, were vast greeneries with lush forests teeming with life and vitality. Like where Senlin village was located (Before the surroundings were burned down by the fire nation, that is) Rivers somewhere close by flowed in those areas, bringing about a beautiful sight for sore eyes. This was one such river. The beautiful, calming sounds of nature were rudely interrupted, however, by the sound of an engine. On this day, as dawn approached, a small Fire Nation sea vessel could be seen sailing on the water. Of course, it would be considered Fire Nation if the red flag with a fire symbol on the mast hadn''t been taken down. These parts of the Earth kingdom were different from the area before the Mo Ce Sea Prison rig. It couldn''t be considered under complete control of the earth kingdom, nor could it be considered Fire Nation colonial territory. Nevertheless, both nations had troops, soldiers, and spies hidden in various parts of the area. Now wasn''t the time when Omashu had been conquered. So the lands before reaching the great city was considered a hotspot. To put it in more fitting terms, it could be considered a border of sorts containing some earth kingdom villages stretching for miles with forces from both sides lurking in different areas. Here, the outposts of the Fire Nation were severely limited due to the fact that Earth kingdom resistance had also set up outposts in this region. Occasional battles took place every now and then with both sides testing each other in constant warfare. Due to this very reason, the life of the citizens situated here were miserable. Constantly finding themselves in the crossfire when the two sides went to battle. Villages were looted and burned, with its inhabitants either being killed or left homeless in the wilderness. Honestly, Sozin definitely knew how to start a war with the help of the glorious comet, but he certainly had no idea how to end it. The Fire Nation had waged a century long war against the other two nations. (Airbenders not counted, those guys were wiped out long ago without much contribution to consider). The resources needed to support such an extended conquest was by no means something it could support solely by its own efforts. After all, The Fire Islands could only be considered small in comparison to the Earth kingdom when it comes to sheer landmass. Barely a quarter of its total size. Robbing, looting, pillaging villages were essential in the long run to support their armies if the Fire Nation didn''t want to collapse on itself before they could grasp victory. Battling the Earth kingdom was hard enough. A pesky southern water tribe disturbing them occasionally consumed considerable amounts of resources and manpower to keep at bay. The result of their actions leaving countless dead and even more homeless. Hence, the refugees could only make their way to the two places in the earth kingdom large enough to protect them. In short, these war torn parts were not just open to Fire Nation, but also water tribe soldiers, Earth Kingdom Rebels, thieves, cutthroats, and mercenaries. There was still some room for talking if the riverboat was spotted by Firebenders. If earth kingdom/Water tribe soldiers saw the Fire Nation flag, then all that awaited Luca was a swift ambush. Hence, the need for caution. Compared to all the other places he had been to, Luca could only describe this region with one word. Chaotic. Splash! A dash of red could be seen being thrown into the river. More followed as objects colored red were dumped from the side of the boat. Luca stood at the edge, undressing himself as he threw the Imperial Firebender Uniform into the river. He was no longer in solid Fire Nation territory. Understanding the region he was in, this, combined with his current situation, made this special clothing''s value diminish greatly. If he was spotted by the wrong people, the disadvantages far outweighed whatever small benefits it could bring him. Not to mention, he had no intention to play Royal Fire guard anymore. And so, the special uniform ended up tossed into the river. No one would miss it anyway. All that was left was the helmet. Holding it over the ship''s edge, Luca''s gaze halted on the red helmet that had a white decoration in the area around the eyes. Or did it? He couldn''t tell anymore, as the outside of the helmet was stained with blood. He lowered his gaze. The previously transparent water now had touched of red within it. Blood from the uniform he just dropped into the river. Looking at this thing, his face grew slightly grim as his abilities reacted involuntarily. - Spirit Chi: - 20 - ¡°Crkkkk!¡± His hands holding the helmet subconsciously increased force and then ...... The helmet was bent out of shape. Luca immediately regained his composure. Stopping the loss of spirit Chi immediately before he wasted more of it. The river was long and the boat continued to move onward. ''¡­. No matter how many times I see it, it still feels incredible''. Luca uttered while grasping the helmet with one hand and raising his hand to take a good look. The helmet now had two human hand prints embedded at the sides. ''Such power ...... Able to bend steel, coming from my unremarkable hands ¡­.''. He wasn''t smiling. Nor did he feel the elation of such power, as his face remained expressionless. Before reaching the Mo Ce prison rig, Luca had been experimenting with his Chi to develop a means of attack. He did. His enhanced ability to control Chi allowed him to externalize it into the physical realm, making it tangible. At first, using it as a direct means of attack wasn''t possible. However, all Transversers from Earth had a reservoir of untapped knowledge and a hyperactive imagination. Using a blade as an anchor, he infused his Chi into it and the results proved remarkable. Enabling him to release slashes of pure chi attacks into the distance before it dissipated. It looked like the equivalent of sword Qi from those immortal cultivation stories. Luca still remembered his excitement upon success. His enthusiasm causing him to experiment more and more and unlock new discoveries. In the movies and novels he went through from his previous life, Chi had varying strengths and limitations in different shows. Luca, who was an avid Naruto fan, discovered that while regular Chi in this world couldn''t boost bodily functions, it still had similar enhancements effects as chakra did on weapons. For example, sharpening. After infusing chi into the sword, it could easily cut through metal like paper. On the riverboat, he had personally tested this. Feeling curious about the effects, he had tried the same thing with spirit chi. Only to come to a surprising revelation. The previous use of Spirit chi was to activate density shifting and passive regeneration. But when controlling it this time without the use of attached skills, Luca felt something he had never noticed before. Strength. As the stagnant chi flowed from his abdomen to his hands, Luca felt a burst of power briefly envelop wherever it passed through. It was fleeting, barely lasting a second, yet that was enough to tell him all he needed to know. Regular Chi couldn''t enhance the physique..... but spirit Chi could. It made sense really when he thought about it. Apart from the experience of past lives, the Avatar carried tremendous power and although rare, has shown feats of enhanced physical prowess. Korra to be specific. At the moment, however, Luca wasn''t in the mood to rejoice. The subconscious use of Spirit Chi wasn''t just brushed aside. As despite his short existence, it had never happened before. This alone let Luca know his current mental state wasn''t right, as the blood on the helmet wasn''t his. ......... You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.Squelch! Drip! Drip! Drip! ¡°Arghhhhh¡± ¡°Arghhhhh¡± ¡°Arghhhhh¡±. Three loud wails emerged from the prison rig into the sky. The agony held within them was so startling that the two sides embroiled in battle paused their actions. Thud! Thud! ¡°Argh ..... Ugh ¡­.¡±. Tyro roared in pain as he stumbled to his knees. A piercing, stinging sensation emerged from his left hand and spread towards his entire being. ¡°I ..... What ..... Argh". It was terrible. The old man reached out to his left arm ¡­. Only to find ..... Gone. From his elbow downward, nothing was there. Just an open stump that was now leaking blood in torrents. ¡°..... You haven''t gone into shock like the others yet ¡­.¡±. A voice called out to him. The old man raised his head to look at the man in red who had appeared right before him at some point. - Spirit Chi: - 30 - ''..... Seriously? Enhanced speed at that level consumed thirty in a second? Thankfully, it''s just a second.....''. His distress didn''t reflect in his voice. ¡°Though that might be because I only cut off one arm while the others lost both¡±. The fight had stopped, the elements were calm. Dozens of human beings stood frozen in place. The Firebender''s because of the scream. The Earth militia because of what they saw. Their leader, Tyro just had his arm cut off. ¡°What in Sozin''s name .....¡±. The Warden and his men couldn''t help but take several steps back in shock. What ..... What just happened? ¡°You have squashed your opportunity to leave this place alive. Now I give you another choice ¡­.¡±. The fighting had stopped, and everyone''s attention was on him. Seeing this, Luca immediately began his performance. ¡°.... Surrender now. And your lives will be spared. There are other people I''d rather kill¡±. His words were slow, bland, and seemingly emotionless. ''..... There''s no way back now ......''. The road had been sealed. Now he could only carry it out to the very end, no matter what it cost him. Now he could only hope. Hope that Tyro would surrender without him having to do more. Not just because he would rather not expend more spirit Chi but also because he didn''t want to kill. Not these people anyway..... Unfortunately, you rarely get what you hope for. Tyro, who was still gritting his teeth in pain seemed to be awakened by those words. Luca was marvelled as he saw the emotion within the man''s eyes. Rage, hatred, fear ..... But most of all, unbridled will. ¡°..... Go to hell ..... Ash maker¡±. The words were spit with hard effort as the man''s face began to change color from intensive blood loss. Cold sweat had begun to accumulate on his head. Luca felt astonished. He never expected such sheer grit and will from a side character without many appearances in the series. A man''s dignity should not be tarnished. ¡°I''ve been ready to die a long time ago....... But my death will not stop this attack ¡­.¡±. ¡°Tyro!¡± Numerous yells suddenly resounded as the shock of the earth benders faded. Then, they rushed towards their direction finally realizing what was happening. ¡°Perhaps ...... But theirs will¡±. The indifference within his voice was chilling. Following which, the sword resting on his side was infused with ivory white chi. ¡°Stop them!¡± The Firebender''s were stunned and reacted. Shooting fire at the running earthbenders. Two stopped, and pushed upward. A stone wall made of coal emerged, blocking them from the attacks. The others immediately took their stances and attacked. Numerous rocks shot towards Luca''s direction. At that moment, he lifted his blade and slashed. ¡ª Chi -50 - (please note the difference between chi and spirit Chi to highlight which one is being used and when) The chi shockwave shot out from the weapon in a crescent shaped towards his attackers. Colliding with the earth attacks, the latter was completely destroyed while the chi slash, although greatly diminished, still carried one with enough force to spit a human in half. And so it did. Squelch Piercing into their bodies, it finally dissipated into thin air. But its work had been fulfilled. The damage created immediately made itself apparent. Puff! Blood spurted out from their chests as their eyes widened. Following which, all of them collapsed to the floor unmoving. Even those who had erected the earth wall to shield their companions were no exception. The Fire Navy shipyard was enveloped with silence. With the only exception being the sound of corpses falling to the floor. Tyro turned around, his pupils shrinking at the scene. He wasn''t the only one, all those rebels who were about to attack froze in place at the sight before them. What ..... What was that? That white colored light that just killed a dozen men? A new type of firebending? Impossible. ''This ¡­. Is the strength of the guards of the royal family?'' The Warden felt his scalp go numb. Fear enveloping him from head to toe. As a warden, he had to have some competency to better manage his position. So although he was quite far from being a master, his bending ability could be considered strong. At least he thought so himself. But no, he just saw someone kill a dozen earthbenders with one move. What was that? And that white light ¡­. Was it a special type of flame? Ones used by the Imperial Firebenders? Like the legendary white flame? The Warden''s speculations were similar to many. ¡°Your rebellion will come to an end. As you will surrender.....¡±. Drip! Drip! Drip. Blood dropped from the blade. ¡°...... or I will kill you all, one by one until you do¡±. Luca uttered again. His cold words sounding into the ears of everyone close enough to hear them. ¡°It''s just a matter of how many? Ten? Twenty, thirty? How many of you will give your lives fighting a battle you can''t win?¡± The Warden was being forced back into the rig. From the time the militia attacked to this very moment, not long had passed. And in this very short timeframe, Luca could only come up with one solution to his problem. A show of force. The battle between both sides wasn''t something that could easily be stopped. Not until one side gained clear victory. The Warden, despite being disadvantaged, wasn''t going to let that happen anytime soon. Hence, his decision to secure himself and his troops in the rig. For him, that wasn''t ideal. With the development of his Chi manipulation, Luca''s combat prowess wasn''t at the same level it was a few hours ago. With a mid ranged attack, he could deal with Firebenders from a distance with his new chi release. On the riverboat, he had discovered that Spirit Chi could be used to temporarily increase his physical stats. Agility, strength, physique ...... Would all receive varying levels of increase depending on how much was consumed. The reason why Ty Lee could defeat a group of elite Earthbenders all by herself wasn''t just due to Chi blocking, by also her extreme agility and flexibility enabling her to doge attacks aimed at her with ease. From the little he understood, the use of Spirit Chi could bring his physical status to such a level and even higher just based on the speed he recently displayed. With the cost being lower than density shifting, his ability to take on groups of benders had skyrocketed by several levels. Time was limited and there was a lot he didn''t understand. It wasn''t a permanent solution as he still needed to conserve his Spirit chi, but compared to only ten seconds of invincibility, the extended battery life was a major upgrade. But if the Warden retreated, then he only had two choices. Join the warden or fight the Earthbenders himself. Between the former and the Latter, Luca liked neither option. Dealing with the earthbenders was now within his capabilities, but with their numbers, the cost was too great. One man against dozens of earthbenders, his regular reflexes were nowhere near fast enough to dodge everything that might come his way. A year incarcerated at Capital Prison was to thank for that. Thousands of ants could take down and elephant. Without density shifting or Chi enhancements, an attack would hit sooner or later. With Spirit Chi .... If he simply just attacked, then they would all fight back in fear despite him showing overwhelming power. And if he simply dealt with some and told the rest to back down in order to be conservative, then it could raise suspicions on his capabilities. The development of things after that was out of his control. An idea he didn''t like one bit. The worst possible case scenario, he might exhaust close to half of his reserves, doing all the work for the warden with no substantial gain. Instead of that happening, he chose another method resulting in what was happening before him. He had consumed nearly 30+ spirit Chi for instantaneous movement. Strengthening his physique cost 1¨C2 points per second. The total amount consumed now was unknown. But everything he had done had clear intent. Cutting off their arms was for their screams to draw attention. His statement for Tyro to surrender was for everyone present to hear. Giving the illusion that he preferred to capture them instead of killing them. Explaining why he insisted on their surrender instead of outright ending their lives. And Although it wasn''t definite, from his understanding of the series, he knew Tyro wouldn''t agree. Hence, the next scene. Cutting off Tyro''s arms wasn''t just for attention, but also because he didn''t really want to kill these men. As a fan of the Avatar franchise, he knew that they were doing nothing but fighting for their rights. For freedom, fighting against the enemies that sought to conquer them. They weren''t the ones on the side of aggression. They were the oppressed who had done nothing wrong. Luca''s morals and principles prevented him from outright killing them. He was after all human, not a cold-hearted murderer. The circumstances of killing the Fire Nation soldiers were different. In real right, the earthbenders should be his allies. But were they? That didn''t seem to matter anymore. A series of complex connections had led to this very moment. He was now taking the persona of a Fire Nation officer, standing on the side of his enemy disguised as an ally. The moment he killed the first Earth militia, they were bound to be on separate sides. Cutting off Tyro''s hand ...... There was no going back. Which led to the next scene. A Chi Slash to kill eleven men. The moment he did, Luca felt his hand tremble slightly. ''¡­. I just killed innocent men......''. The effect of an instant bloody kill was particularly striking. Simply to give them all despair that they were going up against an enemy they couldn''t win. To let them know that extra fighting was pointless. This was the purpose behind Luca''s actions. The silence and Tyro''s shock were the result. Good, but not enough. He would rather not gamble on the chance that these people would accept reality. He knew it the moment he saw the look in Tyro''s eyes. That look of hardened veterans who would rather die than submit. If Tyro still didn''t accept it, then his efforts would be for nothing. So it wasn''t enough. He needed a final push, one more thing to throw him off the edge. ¡°Since you won''t decide, then I''ll help you count ¡­.¡±. ''Wait.....!'' Tyro''s eyes widened. ''What?¡­''. Luca immediately took action. His Red Army boots twisting to a certain direction before his spirit chi was reactivated. -1 -2 -2 -1 Strength filled his muscles as he rushed forward with swiftness a trained elite couldn''t possibly possess. ¡ª Strength: 10 - (18), Dexterity 9 - (18) Constitution 11 (16) Squelch! Chapter 23 Dark Feelings The stats of a regular adult male was around ten points. From his testing, anything below 15 wasn''t exactly too outstanding. A Constitution below 15 points was at the level of a specially trained athlete. So was speed, strength, and all other physical stats. The same law applied to skills as well. Anything below 15 such as 13, 14 could only be considered good. 15 was excellent. 11 and twelve was at most above average. But this law stopped at 15, which from Luca''s understanding, was the peak of what regular humans could achieve. From sixteen upward, you began entering the realm of beyond possible. A Marksmanship of 16 points was enough to be placed among the top three best shooters in the world back on earth if not first place. Fifteen and below could be reached with enough time and effort by anyone. But from this level, hard work simply wouldn''t cut it. An extremely strong natural talent was required to advance even further. 16 was at the level of the best. Seventeen was already beyond human ability, entering the realm of inhuman. 18, proper low tier superhuman levels of power display. Even a fully trained Firebender with strong physical fitness would only have these physical stats at around thirteen to fourteen. Prodigies could go one step further and those truly determined could go one point further on top of that. So how fast would someone be at a full speed of eighteen? It wasn''t at the level of instantaneous movement within a certain range, it wasn''t even at the level of a blur. But one thing was for sure, it was fast. Really fast. ¡°Since you won''t decide, then I''ll help you count ¡­.¡± ''Wait.....!'' Tyro''s eyes widened. ''What?''. But it was too late. Luca had already appeared before an Earthbender and swung his weapon before he could even react. Squelch! ¡°Argh!¡± Barely two seconds had passed, yet another arm had been severed from the body. The speed at which it took place was astounding. One the old man had never witnessed before. Thud! The Earthbender fell to the floor clutching his bleeding arm in pain. Blood flowing out profusely without end. ¡°For every few seconds you delay, one of your own will lose a limb¡±. Then he turned his gaze to the next one. ¡°I wonder if you guys can still earthbend with one arm ¡­". He said while walking, two Firebenders previously confronting earthbenders were in his direction. Frozen in shock. ¡°Step aside ¡­. All of you¡±. And so they did, lowering their hands and moving out of the way to reveal the enemies they previously fought. They weren''t the only ones. All Firebenders immediately disengaged from their foes. The earthbenders had their faces change drastically. ¡°Don''t let him get close. Attack ......¡±. Seeing a greater threat, they immediately changed focus. Luca immediately picked up the pace as he saw numerous rocks shooting towards his direction. - Battle Instinct: 14, Blademanship: 16 - His eyes briefly examined the directions in which the attacks emerged from. When benders fired elemental attacks, they usually target certain areas. Head, chest, stomach, it was predictable really, especially for rookie earthbenders without proper combat training in the army. Tyro had formed a militia out of farmers, hunters, and random earthbenders. These Earthbenders were skilled in using their elements for farming, road reconstruction and changing of small terrains. For combat? Not so much. Luca easily slid underneath the barrage, propped himself up and returned the favor. With swift and agile strikes, his blade sliced out again and again, one Earthbender after another falling to the ground as they were unable to predict. Blood flowed like endlessly as the chi infused blade was soaked again and again with each additional strike. ¡°Argh!¡± ¡°No ¡­ No!¡± ¡°Stay awa..... Argh!¡± Blood flowed, limbs were cut off. Luca''s actions were too fast, his movements too agile. ''..... I''m sorry .....''. He thought to himself without stopping his actions. Although he felt slightly remorseful, Luca knew that his current situation didn''t give him much choice. Like earlier stated, a series of complex connections had led to this very moment. It wasn''t his voluntary actions. He didn''t enjoy it one bit, nor did he long for this. If he could leave this place a step earlier, then all of it could have been avoided. But that no longer mattered. Some would say he was wrong. Thinking there was a better way he could have gone about it. Just reveal that he wasn''t Fire Nation. Easy right? Wrong. Luca had taken everything he could think of into consideration before he made this choice. He knew Tyro and Haru, but they didn''t know him. They didn''t know his true identity, they didn''t know he was a fire nation outcast, and this was the middle of a major conflict with both sides in a brutal battle. Why should they believe anything he said? Squelch! ¡°Stop! Stop it you bastard!¡± Tyro watched as his men fell one after another, his eyes red and his throat roaring. ¡°Oh my ¡­.¡±. ¡°What the hell is he ¡­.¡±. ¡°.... Demon. That''s a demon¡­.¡±. ''Demon?'' Luca looked at himself. Much redder than usual. All the slicing of limbs had gotten a great deal of blood on the uniform. Looking back, a trail of bleeding victims could be seen in his wake, looking forward, the Earth kingdom militia were all backing away. The fear in their eyes as bright as the afternoon sun. Luca swept his gaze towards them, moving from one to another until he landed on a young one. ''There you are ¡­.''. Light skin, long hair, handsome face, small stature ..... Haru at the moment looked pale. The sight of everything before him was too much to take in. The next moment, however, his pale face grew paler as he saw the fire nation demon walking towards his direction. ¡°... No ¡­ Don''t come over here ¡­.¡±. He uttered in fear while pushing a rock towards Luca. It was destroyed with a single strike, doing nothing to stop the demon''s advancement. ¡°Haru! No!¡±. Seeing the scene unfolding, Tyro yelled at the top of his lungs. Then ignoring the pain in his left hand, he raised the right one and clenched his palm. The surrounding earth rushed towards his arm and feet. ¡°Stop him!¡± The warden saw him Earthbending and was shocked. He had never seen a man earthbend with one arm, not to mention a freshly cut one. The will required to ignore the immense pain in order to control the elements in his situation wasn''t something an ordinary man possessed. Perhaps, only a parent who cared greatly for his child. No wonder the Warden was caught off guard. Because at this point, Tyro shouldn''t even be capable of Earth Bending.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Jin released a stream of fire. He was late however as the earth gathered under the old man''s feet and propelled him forward while hard coal engulfed his right arm. ¡°Get away from my son!¡± At this point, his hand had been completely encased in heavy coal like a large gauntlet. Arriving at Luca''s back, he raised his only arm and punched forward to stop Luca''s actions. Clang. A loud collision emerged on the shipyard. ¡°Well ...... Looks like you still can¡±. Luca uttered, his gaze locked on the giant rock fist wrestling against his chi infused sword. ''..... What great strength ¡­ ¡­''. His face under the helmet looked solemn. Luca knew how much strength was currently coursing through his veins. However, defending this strike head on was harder than he expected. If not for the fact that the blade was infused with chi, he was sure that it would have snapped in half under that strike. Blasting right through and hitting him with it. As expected, of a named character. Even if he was just a notable extra, his Earthbending was truly impressive. He didn''t know how much natural strength came from Tyro himself but that rock fist packed a heavy punch. However ¡­. A single strike was rarely ever the deciding factor in a battle. Tyro''s fist couldn''t knock him away. Hence, it was his turn. With a slight adjustment of his stance, he shifted his center of gravity and pushed the rock fist to the side. Then ...... Whoosh! Luca leaped over the old man with agility his body naturally didn''t possess. While midair, his free left arm stretched forward, grabbing the collar of Tyro''s clothes. Tyro had barely registered what had happened when he felt a strong pulling force from behind. The next thing he knew, he found his feet off the ground and his vision spinning around. Luca''s legs touched the floor, then under everyone''s eyes, he lifted a nearly 230 pound (104.33 kg) male from his position and spun him around like a yo-yo before slamming him into the ground. Thud! The old man''s body slammed into the floor of the metal rig, bouncing a few meters away before stopping. ¡°I admire your resilience¡±. Those words weren''t registered. ¡°Father ¡­.¡±. The scream was, however. Tyro raised his bloody face with great difficulty only to see his son attempt and fail to attack his assailant with Earthbending. ¡°And I admire your son''s courage to defend you. But ......¡±. Grasping the young man, he drew his sword clearly for Tyro to see and aimed for his hand. ¡°.... Nothing will change¡­.¡±. ¡°Enough!¡± Luca''s blade stopped an inch away from Haru''s hand. ¡°I ..... I yield¡±. ¡°...¡±. His words were followed with silence as Luca didn''t respond. Seconds elapsed ¡­. Until¡­. Thud! ¡°Very well¡±. The young Haru was dropped to the floor, eyes wide and body slightly trembling. Luca paid him no heed, turning his attention to ...... Everyone else. ¡°Does anyone say otherwise?¡± ¡°...¡±. His words were similarly met with silence as the earth kingdom militia all stood unmoving. And slowly, those with weapons in their possessions dropped them to the floor. Their actions synchronized with the earthbenders who knelt to the floor with their hands in the air indicating their surrender. ¡°I didn''t think so¡±. ''..... It''s finally over .....''. Luca thought to himself while turning to look at Tyro. He could see the complex emotions in his eyes, as if he had never expected their attack to play out like this. The Avatar had just freed them. Yet now ¡­. ''They have to go back into captivity again ¡­.''. Blood dripped down from the blade as Luca made sure that nothing unexpected would happen again. ¡°Clear all earth in the vicinity. Then round them all up ¡­.¡±. The warden seemed to have regained authority as he began to give orders to his men. Following which, he walked towards Luca, a flattering smile plastered on his face. ¡°Thank you for your help sir¡­". He uttered with a ninety-degree bow. ¡°We never would have been able to stop these bastard''s revolt on our own. Do rest assured that I will give them the strictest punishments for their actions and show no mercy ......¡±. ¡°Warden .....¡±. Luca interrupted. ¡°Have you ever experienced what it''s like to speak with a split throat?¡± ¡°.... I ¡­.¡±. The Warden''s almost choked. ¡°What ¡­. Whatever do you mean ¡­.¡±. ¡°I mean keep talking, and I might just give you a first class experience¡±. Usually, he would have been more cautious with his words. But not now. Currently, Luca was too irritated to give a damn. Sure enough, the cowardly warden shut his mouth immediately, not daring to utter another word. After a while of silence¡­. ¡°I need a few things¡±. ¡°Of course. Whatever you want, just ask¡±. ¡°First, no one must know of my presence here. It must not be told to any other Naval fleet officer, commander, or general that docks here. Keep my actions a secret and make sure your men don''t utter a word about it to anyone¡±. ¡°... That ¡­. I understand¡±. ''It must be due to his mission. He wants to go unnoticed''. The Warden nodded inwardly, admiring his wit on deducing the situation. He was thinking too much. Luca wanted the warden to put out a gag order, so others wouldn''t realize something was wrong. The Fire Nation were still searching for him in earth kingdom territory. If what he did today spread, it wouldn''t just be a simply quelling of a prison riot, but a story that was hard for others to believe. There would always be those who would take it as nothing but exaggerated feats and tall tales. But the ones would true brains and heavy suspicions would definitely put two and two together. If word reached Ozai in any way that a member of the royal guard was seen here and now carrying an ¡°Important Mission¡± assigned by Fire Lord Ozai himself, then many unwanted changes would follow. The Fire Lord would undoubtedly investigate and discover that no such thing had ever happened. What was an imperial firebender doing at the Colonies? Plus, when did Imperial Firebenders have such abilities? There were hardly any Firebenders that used weapons. Imperial ones were nonexistent. Coupled with the fact that the Fire Nation wouldn''t find him after a long search, Luca knew that things would come together one way or the other. The crime of killing and impersonating an Imperial Firebender was enough for Ozai to take his capture much more seriously. When that happened, the pressure on him would increase to greater heights. Luca didn''t expect to keep this a secret forever, but merely wanted to delay it for as long as possible. He would be insane to increase his own difficulties by several more levels. This was also why he had limited choices. Siding with the earth benders was impossible as revealing his identity could lead to a whole new set of troubles. They would find out, so would the Warden and his men. Would he need to silence them right after? Yes. What about the Tyro and his militia? Also yes. But if so, then what was the point in the first place? Forget about whether the Earthbenders would trust him and give him time to explain, letting them know that he killed an Imperial Firebender was just adding more trouble for himself. This information would leak into the wrong hands sooner or later. Both parties barely knew each other, there was no way they would guard his secret to death if push comes to shove. And would the earthbenders trust him enough without revealing who he was? No, they would not. He was Fire Nation. That alone was enough to breed mistrust and hatred. There was every chance that Tyro and the earthbenders would try to kill him alongside the others anyway. Too many risks would follow, so why should he put his life on the line and endanger himself just to make sure that other good people wouldn''t get hurt? Was there a better, smarter way to go about it? To make sure that nobody got hurt apart from the bad guys? The answer to that question, Luca didn''t know. But would he gamble his life and well-being on these possibilities? No, he would not. This was something only the avatar and his friends would do. Why? At that moment, his stat panel came to mind again. ....... Alignment: Lawful Evil ....... This was why. Because Aang was the Avatar, the savior, and the Airbender who valued all life no matter how small. Luca wasn''t him. He wasn''t a hero, he wasn''t a saint, and his panel clearly told him ...... That he wasn''t even a good person. Ever since he stepped into this world, he knew that he was no longer bound by the old rules. The Law didn''t exist anymore, and there was no one to punish him. So despite knowing that Tyro and his militia were on the side of Justice (good on their stance of the war) Despite knowing that they had done nothing to deserve this, he would pick up his sword and perform his actions all over again if need be. He wouldn''t kill recklessly or intentionally exploit others for his benefit. But he would never place himself in harm''s way to make sure others are uninjured. He would never place himself as a bridge to let others walk over him to get to the other side. Because if he had to choose between the world and himself, then there was no contest. If his well being depended on the salvation or destruction of the whole world, then so be it. As long as he was alive and well, then everything else be damned. ¡°And I require a sword.....¡±. Luca uttered while looking at the weapon with slight cracks all over it. ¡°The best you can give me¡±. The memories flashed briefly through his mind as Luca gazed at the helmet in his possession. Splash! And so, he let It drop into the river. Time passed. Spirit Chi: -10 Strength filled his legs, prompting Luca to run to the boat''s edge and leaped out directly. A tremendous force erupted from his legs, sending him a great distance into the air. Thud. And so, he jumped from the middle of the river right onto dry land. Luca looked at the dense vegetation before him and turned back towards the departing riverboat. The engine was still running, and the steering wheel had been jammed, making sure it would continue to go forward. ''It''s been a pleasure''. The riverboat was no longer needed and could only serve one more purpose. Leading anyone who might be on his trail in the wrong direction. And so he stood there, watching as the ship disappeared down the river before turning around and walking. Soon, his back also departed into the forest, unable to be seen again. Chapter 24 Butterfly Effects The history of a world was vast with its past, present, and future created by the very actions of man itself. From the primitive era, to the industrial age and advanced twenty-first century to the gradual reveal of cutting-edge technology. Using less than ten percent of their brains, man had constantly changed their world, created countless firsts and weaved the fully unexplored region that was the past which later generations would look back on and learn from, marvel at or emulate to create even greater stories. The past pushing on the future as the actions of more and more people would create the past, present, and future the world would forever come to know. Wars, technology development, scientific advancements, laws, and theories..... People would always remember the people who pioneered the way that brought forth the things they could see with their very eyes. Many would always wonder, assume, speculate on the question ¡°What would the world be like today if this didn''t happen¡±. If Hitler never started the war, If electricity was never discovered, if Leonardo da Vinci never created the Mona Lisa and worst of all ...... If the Internet was never created. From bigger things that was reminiscent to the whole world to smaller things that only dealt with our own singular affairs. What would have happened if I had studied harder in school, gone to a better college, gotten a higher paying job, confessed to my school crush, pursued my dream of being a soccer superstar and the likes. Regrets, sorrows, happy events, coincidences, what ifs..... These were the big things people would think of. A representation of a period of time which major events of importance took place that led to a big impact on their personal world or the world itself today. Our past, our present, our future. The vast majority of us could vividly list out several main occurrences we experienced during our lives that lead us to the point where we found ourselves today. Like a paraplegic who became that way due to a horrifying accident, or a sports enthusiast now on a wheelchair due to a terrible injury during a game or simply an instance of Doctor Strange. A narcissistic bastard who had his hands destroyed in a terrible accident because he wasn''t paying attention to the road while driving. Iron Man, who received a major life reform after one trip to Afghanistan, Captain America who turned from a dwarf weakling into a super chad with one bottle of chemicals, Superman ...... A series of main events leading up to those defining moments in our lives. It all formed the Timeline. The events that took place in the past which constituted our current present. Just like it was on Earth and different realities in fiction, it was the same on the Natural realm of the Avatar Verse. The Disappearance of the Avatar, The Air Nomads Genocide, The Fire Nation''s hundred-year war ...... No matter which nation, people would always remember the greater things. The big events. Yet little did they realize that behind those memorable happenings were series of seemingly smaller occurrences, coincidences, right or wrong decisions, mistakes, promises, accidents even, that would ultimately lead to the reality they''ve experienced. After all, Sozin didn''t just wake up one morning and decide to destroy the Air Nomads simply because he felt like it. Those small happenings, from something as insignificant as a bender at the North Pole taking a deep breath at 6am in the morning to Aang deciding to run away from the Southern Air temple. Every step, every choice, each action everyone made would be woven together to form a chain of events that created the mystery that was the future. It was advanced theory that the world was deeply interconnected, such that one small occurrence could influence a much larger complex system. So much so that a casual flapping of a butterfly''s wings at a certain place and a certain time of day or night could hypothetically cause a typhoon. A person deciding to rest an extra twenty minutes more in bed could, through a chain of seemingly unrelated events, lead to the destruction of the Southern Water tribe or the death of an unknown individual. The butterfly effect. A theory mostly associated to chaos phenomenon on how the change of a single action in an original timeline could lead to all sorts of different possibilities (Problems. In movies, novels, theories, there are never any good endings) Changing the present and possibly future to something entirely different from what it was supposed to be. This theory or possibility wasn''t even something the residents of this elemental world could possibly fathom at this stage. Yet unknown to them, however, the helpless unintentional actions of a certain unwanted guest from another dimension was screwing up the future of their world without them knowing. Earth Kingdom Colonial Territory¡­. Two days before the winter solstice. Flying forwards while hovering above the light, white clouds, was a Raptor hawk. With dark reddish feathers on its back and top and buff colored ones on the belly and underside of the wings and tail, this moderately sized bird of prey had another more prominent name known to anyone he laid eyes on it. Messenger Hawk. But contrary to others, this hawk didn''t have a satchel worn on its body nor did it have a canister containing a scroll with important contents strapped to its back. Meaning it wasn''t a Fire Nation military avian bird. Unlike its domesticated brethren, this was a wild Raptor hawk, soaring through the skies as it reveled in all its freedom. The revelling was short-lived however as it quickly got to work. The kids back home were hungry, and food wasn''t going to provide itself. Even in the animal Kingdom, the fate of hard work could not be escaped. Jobs still existed with the only difference being that everyone''s jobs were now divided into two groups. Find what to eat and simultaneously avoid getting eaten. With sharp eyes, it surveyed the land below as it searched for adequate prey that would serve as its midday lunch. Normal everyday routine. After all, it ruled the skies for kilometers in every direction. Around these parts, it was long as there were no avian creatures that could contest with its might. However ...... The Raptor Hawk flying in the skies was suddenly covered by a black shadow. That''s right, a shadow. But it was already flying above the clouds. How could it be covered by a shadow? Caw! It released. Then ..... Marghhh! The Hawk was startled at the loud bellow coming from above. Without looking behind to see what had released it, the Hawk swooped downwards at full speed, its survival instinct driving it to flee for its dear life as far away as possible. ¡°Appa ...... You scared it away¡±. The high-pitched voice of a depressed Water tribe male youth resounded from the Bison''s back. ¡°You can''t blame Appa. It''s not his fault. Besides, you couldn''t even catch that bird anyway ¡­". Soft giggles resounded through the air as the Flying Bison flew forward at a leisurely speed, its resident passengers all laying relaxed and comfy. ¡°Those clouds are so soft, aren''t they?¡± Katara uttered as she saw Appa''s shadow reflect off the clouds.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°Like you could just jump down and land in a big soft cotton heap¡±. ¡°Maybe you should give it a try¡±. The words fell, and Katara''s face scrunched up in displeasure. ¡°You''re hilarious¡±. The Water tribe girl scoffed at her brother''s sarcastic remark. There was no way she was going to do something so outrageous. She wasn''t seeking death. However ....." I''ll try it". Someone else in their group was more ..... Open-minded. The two siblings watched as Aang jumped off Appa''s back, his figure disappearing into the clouds. ¡°Ha ha ha ha ¡­. Yeah!¡± His voice rang out with exhilaration while Katara and Sokka had their ears darting in different directions as they searched for his figure. As a result, Aang flew up from the clouds on his glider and landed behind them, his whole body soaked with water. ¡°Turns out, clouds are made of water¡±. With a little Airbending, the water was blown away, and the last air nomad was a good as new. Katara resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Only an Airbender would perform such a crazy act. She turned her attention away into her distance only to be startled at what she saw. ¡°Hey!¡­.¡±. She called out to her brother and Aang. ¡°What is that ......¡±. Their attention was captured as they followed her gaze into the distance. Both boys had their faces change drastically at what they saw. Black, in the vast greenery, was an area that was pitch black. ¡°It''s like a scar .....¡±. Sokka uttered, his eyes wide with shock and his expression stunned. The trio watched in silence as Appa flew over into the scorched land. Upon getting closer to the earth, they could see it more clearly. Burned. All the vegetation, wildlife, all of it ..... Gone. ¡°What happened here ¡­". Katara asked with her mouth slightly open. ¡°I have no idea¡±. Aang replied. ¡°Come on, let''s get down for a closer look ¡­.¡±. ¡°No, not here¡±. Sokka uttered with a shake of his head. They both turned to him with an inquiring gaze, only to see his eyes fixed somewhere else. ¡°Let''s check that place out first¡±. They could see what Sokka was talking about. The area Aang wanted to land on was surrounded by black earth for a long distance. The spot Sokka pointed to however was different. It was charred black just like the rest of the land, but the area wasn''t large, and it was surrounded by vegetation. ¡°Alright .....¡±. Aang said while slightly flicking the reins. They deviated from the forest and came to the spot where Sokka had pointed out. ¡°It''s....... It''s a village¡±. Katara exclaimed as she saw the ruins of what looked to be a destroyed settlement. ¡°Was a village is more accurate¡­.¡±. Said Sokka. ¡°Looks like it''s been terribly burned down. And from the looks of it, it''s quite recent¡±. ¡°Yeah, but .....¡±. Aang felt his hands tremble. ¡°Where are the people?¡± He uttered while Appa descended to the ground. Following which, the trio spread their eyes to understand the situation before them. However, the next scene they saw made their eyes widen. Bodies, dead bodies sprawled out on the floor. ¡°Oh my God ¡­.¡±. Katara uttered while covering her mouth. ¡°Those are ¡­.¡±. Aang turned slightly pale before his gaze was turned away by Katara, hugging the young 112-year-old before turning her gaze away as well. ¡°.... Bodies ¡­". Only Sokka still looked on, his face just as unsightly as theirs. As on the ground, were corpses. Not just anyone though ..... ¡°Fire Nation¡±. Normally, this shouldn''t be a big deal. Aang had already seen Fire Nation corpses, as well as the skeleton of Monk Gyatso back at the southern air temple. However, those were just pieces of armor and decayed bones. After a hundred years, even the rotting smell had faded away with time and the wind. But this ..... This was brutal. Blood, limbs, torn organs. When had the young airbender ever witnessed such a bloody scene? It was all so vivid. But that wasn''t even the worst part. No, what worsened it was that among the Fire Nation bodies, there were also ones clothed with regular attire. Plain, coarse, worn out, they had seen people wearing such throughout their journey. Combined with the burned village, it was easy to guess their identities. Villagers. Katara quickly shielded him and averted her gaze as well, not bearing to stand the sight of it. ¡°Let''s go Aang. Appa, get us out of here, yip yip". Thankfully, none of them had gotten off the Bison''s back yet. Appa slapped his large furry tail against the air and took off to the skies. Sokka had taken over Aang''s piloting as the young airbender wasn''t precisely in the right state right now. ¡°Aang, it''s ok. There''s no need to ¡­". ¡°It''s my fault¡±. The bald kid said, cutting her off. ¡°It''s not your fault, Aang. You didn''t do any of this. The Fire Nation did¡±. Katara uttered with distress and sorrow. She had seen what the war had done, how hard it had devastated her tribe..... She lost so many things. Her joy, her peace ..... Her mother. But it had been a long time since then. Seeing this gruesome scene, Katara suddenly remembered the horrors of the fire nation. Slaughtering a village! Only monsters would do this. Her train of thought showed just how unsettled she was. Nevertheless, she spoke to Aang softly while hiding the anger in her heart. But Sokka was the exact opposite. ¡°Fire Nation! Those evil savages make me sick. They have no respect for .....¡±. ¡°Sokka! Enough!¡± ¡°I was just .....¡±. ¡°It''s ok Katara, and you''re wrong. It is my fault. The Fire Nation might have done this, but I wasn''t there to stop any of it. A hundred years ..... Late¡±. ¡°Aang ¡­.¡± ¡°It''s the Avatar''s job to maintain the balance. To protect nature, to keep the peace. But I wasn''t there to do my job¡±. ¡°... That''s why we''re going to the North Pole. To find you a teacher so you can master the elements and be the Avatar¡±. ¡°Yeah ..... A waterbending teacher¡­". Aang uttered glumly while organizing his emotions. ¡°But there''s no one to teach me how to be the Avatar. Monk Gyatso said Avatar Roku was supposed to help me¡±. ¡°The Avatar before you?¡± Sokka inquired. ¡°He died over a hundred years ago. How are you supposed to talk to him?¡± ¡°I ¡­. I don''t know¡±. ¡°..¡±. Silence reigned among them with the only exception being the flowing wind. ¡°We''ll find a way Aang. We can''t worry about things that are out of our control. For now, let''s do the only thing we can do¡±. Different from his usually playful self, Sokka looked particularly solemn. ¡°Get you to the North Pole¡±. The sky Bison flew over the Senlin village, quickly disappearing into the distance. While the Avatar remained completely oblivious that a critical node in his journey had been cut off. In the original timeline, Aang was to help the people of Senlin village calm the restless Hei Bai spirit. During the process, he would accidentally get trapped in the spirit realm in and attempt to save Sokka after he was captured by the Hei Bai. In the spirit realm, Avatar Roku would send the spirit of his trusted dragon, Fang, to deliver Aang''s spirit to the crescent island temple in the Fire Nation. There, he would learn that Avatar Roku had a message for him, needing Aang to be at that same place in the physical world during the solstice two days later. Only when these conditions were met would Roku be able to inform Aang about Sozin''s Comet coming the following year. But now, history had changed. Senlin Village was destroyed, and Team Avatar didn''t see the need to stay a second longer. Sokka would never be kidnapped and Roku''s dragon would have no way to contact Aang if he weren''t in the spirit world. Hence, Aang would never go to crescent island to see Roku. Due to Luca''s unintentional actions of drawing the Fire Nation to this area and inciting the anger of Captain Han, an important Key node of the Avatar''s journey had been cut off. As for the chain reaction this would lead to, whether for better or worse ..... Only the future had the answers. ........ Southern Mo Ce Sea Kyoshi Island. On the southern waters surrounding the island of Kyoshi, a ship could be seen departing Koi harbor, from the isolated hometown of one of the most famous people in history. Avatar Kyoshi. ¡°I still can''t believe this is actually happening¡±. A female voice uttered from within the departing boat. A dark-haired girl wearing pale blue clothes and her haired cut short, failing to reach her shoulders stared at the island she had called home for her entire life with complex emotions. ¡°Did you ever think this would happen?¡± She asked while turning her gaze to the female comrade next to her. Auburn hair, light skin and blue eyes. ¡°No, I really didn''t¡±. Suki answered, her eyes in a daze. ¡°But ¡­. I''m glad we''re doing this together¡±. She said while turning her attention to the other side of her boat. And there they were, walking, talking and laughing, making arrangements and putting things where they needed to be. These were the other Kyoshi warriors who had chosen to follow Suki out of their isolated world into the much vaster one. Kyoshi Island had been closed off from the four nations for far too long. After the arrival of Avatar Aang, Suki couldn''t stand it anymore. ¡°Of course we are. We''re sisters¡±. The girl said bumping Suki''s shoulder with her elbow and showing a sweet smile. ¡°Yeah, sisters¡±. A smile Suki happily returned. She moved her gaze from the island and forward onto the horizon. What new opportunities, adventures and excitement awaited them over that line? ¡°Sisters forever¡±. Chapter 25 Poison Mastery Name: Luca Race: Fire Nation ....... Attributes: Strength 10, Dexterity 9 Constitution 11, Chi 895, Perception 14, Spirit Chi: 1,112 Fatigue: 38/100 Alignment: Lawful Evil Personal Perks: Density Shifting, Permanent Chi Absorption, Chi Manipulation: 186, Mastered abilities: Stealth: 16, Blademanship: 16, Hand To Hand Combat: 13, Poison Mastery: 17, Disguise:16, Tool Creation: 15, Marksmanship: 16, Lock picking: 15, Earth Kingdom Culture: 16, Interrogation: 17, Battle Instinct: 14, Evasion and Escape: 16, Regeneration: 10 Assignable Achievement Points (AP): ........ Status: Otherworlder/ Rebel (spy)(Fugitive on the run) ....... Spirit Chi, from 1294 to 1,112. Almost two hundred points of it was expended since the prison rig. Thirty plus on the riverboat prior to his departure. Luca, however, didn''t feel distressed. As compared to Density shifting, this was simply a world of difference. Its usefulness allowed him to attack and boosted his versatility, allowing him to better adapt to complex situations instead of just going right through them. Not that he didn''t like the latter, but ..... Walking through the forests of the earth kingdom, Luca took a look at his stat panel. And contrary to his expectations, there was nothing new apart from the decrease in the spirit chi stat. For him, it was a bit surprising. He had expected his skill repertoire to be updated due to his discovery of the new usage of Chi, if anything. Perhaps something akin to a ¡ª Chi Slash ¡ª or -Enhancement mode ¡ª or something similar with an apt description written underneath. - Chi Slash - Condense Chi onto a weapon of your choice and release it to create an energy slash. Cost ..... ....... - Chi Enhancement - Concentrate Spirit Chi on any desired area of a body to receive a certain level of physical enhancement. Cost: Spirit Chi. ....... ....... Something like these. Turns out he was thinking too much. The stat panel didn''t budge at all, neither did it give a reason why. But Luca could probably make a few reasoned guesses. Perhaps, the Panel with no sentience couldn''t update newly mastered skills. Considering his Chi and Spirit Chi stat got updated regularly, that was an uncertain speculation just too far off. Or perhaps he had too little mastery, hence no change. But the one that had the most plausibility was the possibility that he hadn''t mastered anything worthy of being considered as a skill. Didn''t this mean the same thing as too little mastery? No, it didn''t. After taking a good look at his stat panel and the mastered skills, then making a comparison, Luca could be sure that the panel didn''t consider his usage of Chi to enhance his attacks and physique a skill at all. - Blademanship: 16 - Your knowledge on the use of bladed weapons is extensive due to tutoring from a grandmaster swordsman. Your skill level ranks you as an expert in use of all sword weapons, knives, spears, and others. - Subskill: Dual wielding - You can utilize two different weapons on each hand at once. Lethality will increase or decrease depending on the weapons being used. ........ - Hand To Hand Combat: 13 - Your ability to fight without weapons is judged to be at the Proficient Level. You are better than most but nowhere near the best. ¡ª Note. Skill level is externally affected by physical stats and battle instinct Skill level ¡ª ....... - Marksmanship: 16 - You have spent time practicing with the greatest archers the Fire Nation has ever had. With a bow and arrow, you can be considered a very talented archer, capable of hitting a target within Eighty to Ninety meters with high accuracy. All projectile-based weapons are ranked at the Expert level. - Subskill: Hawkeye - You are not as good as the actual Avenger Hero Hawkeye, but your ability to see objects far away is not what ordinary people can match. ...... Luca read through all the skills and came to the conclusion that depending on the number, each skill would have different ratings. Novice, Proficient, Expert, Master, and Grandmaster. Novice skills started at a standard of ten to eleven points. Anything below that wasn''t qualified to be considered a skill on the panel. Twelve to fourteen were regarded as Proficient. Fifteen, Sixteen, classified into Expert Level. Seventeen, Eighteen, Master. Nineteen, Grandmaster. As for above that, Luca didn''t know if it even had a ranking. As from what he could deduce, few people would ever make it to eighteen points in any skill throughout their lifetime. For any skill, there was practically no one in existence that could exceed twenty, and those who reached twenty could be counted on one hand. Looking at his Blademanship that ranked sixteen, Luca deduced that a swordsman on the level of Piandao would probably have about eighteen points in his weapon mastery. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. As for his Marksmanship..... He had no pride there either. Not when visual monsters like the Yuyan Archers existed. The hand-to-hand combat skill left him looking unsightly. However, this one couldn''t be helped. Time at Capital Prison had caused his physical stats to degenerate to the level of an average male. Some even lower. If he didn''t use Spirit Chi or his sword and competed solely on physical fights, Luca wouldn''t even be a match for an earthbender who didn''t use bending. That alongside the fact that the Fire Nation didn''t promote Hand to Hand Combat classes much. A large part of the nation''s combat power stemmed from their bending ability, which was more advanced than the other four nations. From Luca''s memory, he could remember that the Fire Nation had different Firebending styles, named mostly after Sozin, Azulon, and other Fire Lords who had improved on the art of Firebending over and over throughout the centuries. ''Even Ozai had a Firebending stance named after him after he became firelord. Ozai style, I believe ......''. This was precisely why the Fire Nation could wage a war against the world and still be on the winning side despite being outnumbered by Earth kingdom forces. That alongside their industrial network that was ahead of the other nations and the fact that the Earth Kingdom wasn''t unified. On the contrary, non benders all had the unified combat techniques that granted them basic self-defense capabilities, as non benders all used weapons. Compared to other non benders in the Fire Army, Luca''s Hand to Hand Combat wasn''t poor. Quite the contrary, he could be considered the cream of the crop. Against Earth kingdom soldiers, however ..... Yeah, he was at best above average. No country could truly be the best in every area. It seemed that even the Fire Nation had deficiencies when it came to training their soldiers. All this brought Luca back to the original point. If the listing of Mastered skills was based on rank, then what rank would a Chi Slash and body enhancement be given? Could it even be given a rank at all? No, it couldn''t. Because it wasn''t a skill at all. At best, a move with the output and lethality depending on how much Chi he infused into his attack or through his body. (I don''t want to mention it now as it is not of much significance to this arc, but I feel the need to point out that the use of Chi and Spirit Chi to strengthen the body or create a non attribute attack has a limit. It doesn''t mean that an endless supply of Spirit Chi would make him capable of lifting mountains with ease. The human body has a limit and is still Mortal. The MC will not become Superman) Of course, there was a limit. Just like in the Naruto Verse, having more chakra than everyone else doesn''t make you stronger. (Unless of course, you are a tailed beast) There was no proper way to rank that, hence the lack of a skill level. ¡°Sigh .....¡±. Precisely two days had passed since he abandoned the riverboat to wander into the Earth Kingdom Forests. After all, the waterway he sailed on was connected directly to the Mo Ce Sea just past Mining Village. If anyone wanted to follow him, it would be easy to pursue. Hence, he had been walking for the two days with little breaks in between while making full use of his Evasion and Escape skill to make sure his tracks were well covered. Since then, his walk had never ceased with his study of the status panel reminding him that this wasn''t a gaming system of any kind. With slight hope, Luca had thoroughly examined this panel before him one more time. As a result, the result was still the same. It was fine that there was no experience bar for attribute points and skill points, Luca discovered that he didn''t even have the basic proficiency perk that came with most systems. So basically, there was no way to grind his skills to higher levels in a short time with repetitive practice actions. If not, Luca would have found a place to camp out and spent time grinding skills like a gamer would. Now, after walking for so long, Luca would have doubted he was in the wrong region if not for the map and the certainty of the information he had gotten from the warden before he left. As a chaotic region that housed multiple factions who without a doubt were all hostile to himself, he had expected to encounter something soon after he ventured into the jungle. Sneak attacks, ambushes, traps, or fire nation camps. His wariness of the unknown was what prompted his constant motion with little rest in-between. However, nothing had happened yet. Forget about a village or Fire Nation encampment, he hadn''t even come across a single soul. Humans and animals included. The deeper he went into the woods, the more he discovered that Fauna life was scarce. Not even a small squirrel reared its head out of a hole in a tree. However, just because he couldn''t see them didn''t mean he was unable to find traces. Luca had discovered traces of Fire Nation in the area through several scorched trees alongside traces of animal hunting. From the looks of it, the reason why this part of the forest was devoid of any activity was due to increased Animal hunts to make sure the soldiers of the army didn''t starve to death. Honestly, he had no idea what was up ahead of him or what exactly he might run into. After all, the situation in this region was constantly changing. Apart from some fixed areas which recorded the general area of the largest Fire Nation camps and rebel activity area, the rest of the vast land was regarded as a war zone where friend or foe could pop up at any time. Small-scale battles weren''t scarce in the slightest. So without any clear indications on the map, Luca could only continue journeying southeast with nothing but a destination in mind, a brand new Longsword strapped to his waist and a large bag slung across his shoulder that held rations, a map, a compass, some plants he had picked up during his walk and a few other things alongside several hidden weapons. To cope with his extensive journey, Luca had taken advantage of the Warden''s obedience to ask for anything he thought could be of use. Due to the limited speed of a riverboat, a few rations were in order. However, he didn''t ask for too much in order not to expose something wrong. Hence, he hadn''t eaten the rations but conserved them. Instead, surviving on fruits and berries he had identified in the forest. - Poison Mastery: 17 points - One of the two highest skills in your repertoire. Your knowledge and understanding of plants, herbs, and all Flora are enough to make you a master herbalist. With more specialized training and your feeble understanding of medicine from your past life, you could become a skilled physician capable of curing ailments and pioneering the road to modern medicine. Unfortunately, your extensive knowledge is heavily skewed to the darker, more toxic poison instead of medicine. You are a poison master with a little ability to save a life with your skills and greater ability to end it. ........ Alongside Interrogation which was also at seventeen points, it was the highest level skill he had. Poison Mastery. Through this, he was able to identify plants and fruits in the forest which were edible. Unlike a certain old Dragon Of The West, he wouldn''t get poison rash due to eating the wrong plant. Of course, this was simply a great benefit. No, the real boon this brought was based on those plants that weren''t suitable for consumption and were the exact opposite. ''¡­ Poisons, potions, poultices, here I come ¡­.''. With a plan in mind, Luca had stored several dangerous, poisonous or outright harmful plant species he had identified into the bag on his back for future purposes. And after walking for two days, he had gotten quite an amount. ''This is probably where the division gets all their poison batches from ¡­.''. Luca couldn''t help but think this way as this place was quite abundant in poisonous materials. Venom Ivy, Nightshade Lotus, scorpion lily, dreadroot, white jade bush (the one that poisoned iroh after he drank it for tea)...... All in two days. Yet happiness also came with its own problems. Feeling the weight on his back, a slight frown appeared on his otherwise expressionless face. Although constitution was the highest physical stat he possessed, it wasn''t outstanding in any way. After lugging so much for such a long distance, he was already feeling stressed from the load. A few more hours of persistence, and he was sure he would develop back aches. At the moment, Luca dearly missed the Komodo Rhino he had ridden before being kidnapped by Zuko. He had no idea how much long he would need to walk and missed the convenience. ''Oh how I wish I could have exchanged for a storage space during my perk selection''. Now he knew why those systems usually came with their own portable spaces. Honestly, it was exasperating having to carry so much around everywhere he walked. The main characters would have fainted from exhaustion before they ever got anything done. Luca had already given up on taking too much and was now very selective due to overall weight. Pushing a tree branch out of the way, he walked through a clearing towards the other end. Raising his head up, he could see a small mountain range a great distance away. Luca doubted he would reach it before nightfall. Boom! It happened then. The earth suddenly rumbled as a cloud of dust rolled up from three different directions. Luca, who was observing the sky to make sure he wasn''t being tailed by monitoring birds felt a chill run up his spine. Battle Instinct, Perception....... With a quick sweep, he saw the earth rushing towards like a landslide. But ..... Since when did land slide uphill? Spirit Chi -10 Despite perceiving the attack, Luca knew that he would never be able to react in time before it reached him, and he wasn''t going to bet his life on what would happen. In the fire moment, spirit chi reacted, flowing throughout his body in the span of half a second. Stats: ¡ª Dexterity 9 - (18) Constitution 11 (16) His agility and physical durability increased greatly as he kicked off against the ground and leaped backwards. Bang! The area he previously stood on a second ago caved in as three large earth spikes ejected from the floor piercing close to where he previously stood. His feet touched the ground once again, but Luca didn''t stop. Instead, he retreated backwards, jumping four meters each time as his hand reached for the sword on his back. Thud! His feet impacted firmly on the floor as Luca gazed into the distance with narrowed eyes. ''So the ambush finally came, huh?'' The dust had barely settled when several figures emerged from their hiding spots. They leaped into the air, their feet causing a resounding impact when touching the floor. Each one of them wore heavy clothing and stood with their arms outstretched. ''I know those uniforms ¡­''. Luca recognized them the moment they emerged. Just like the Fire Nation, the earth kingdom military also had its uniform. Colored green, brown and sometimes Khaki yellow. And unlike the rebel militia led by Tyro, these guys wore the standard uniform of the earth kingdom. They even had the hat to prove it. ¡°Now what do we have here.....¡±. As the soldiers stood facing Luca, a calm deep voice came from the distance. Another Earth Kingdom soldier emerged from the woods with the same headgear that looked like the conical rice hat that was popular to Asians and usually seen in Kung fu movies. Luca remembered that crane from the Kung Fu Panda franchise wore something with similar resemblance. It wasn''t the same though, but it was sure damn close. The sides of his face, head, and neck were wrapped in the earth kingdom uniform leaving only his face, beard, hands, and feet exposed. This man led the group. A military captain within Earth kingdom ranks. He looked at the place where their attack was dodged, his expression bordering a light frown. ¡°..... You''re quite the agile one, aren''t you?¡± Shiing! The sword on Luca''s back was drawn out slightly to display a part of a gleaming silver blade. Chapter 26 My Name Is Sasuke Shiing! The sword on Luca''s back was drawn out slightly to display a part of a gleaming silver blade. ''Alright...... Let''s get this over with''. Seeing earth kingdom soldiers appear out of the blue, Luca''s first reaction was that he had been discovered. Especially since their immediate reaction was to attack. Looking at those earth spikes sticking out of the floor from his original spot, the chances of him being impaled if he didn''t react was not just high. Since their first reaction was to earthbend, then that meant he had been exposed. ''Was it from the riverboat though?''. Luca wondered inwardly. ''Or was I recognized? No, that shouldn''t be the case ....''. News of his escape was widely known to the Fire nation, but Luca assumed that they would still be looking for him far back. After all, domesticated Messenger hawks weren''t over abundant. Sending one to every Fire Nation Outpost in the colonies wasn''t ideal and quite frankly unwise. After all, who knew when an emergency would occur with information needing to be quickly transferred. Luca knew this, hence his thoughts. Unless something went wrong, The Fire Nation shouldn''t even know he was in this region. And with his escape only being two months ago, outposts this far out from the Fire Islands shouldn''t even know of his existence. Without wanted posters and bounty orders being spread in these parts, even Fire Nation soldiers shouldn''t know who he was, much less these Earth Kingdom soldiers. This was why he hadn''t revealed his identity back at the Mo Ce Sea Prison Rig. He didn''t want word of his location to be spread in the slightest. Giving him enough time to escape as far away as possible. If the Fire Nation knew the region he was in, then he would need to make remedies to his plans. But that meant that these guys needed to be silenced immediately. However..... "Identify yourself" The man at the center spoke, causing him to stop himself from carrying out his next action. ''Wait ..... They don''t know who I am''. Meanwhile .... Luca''s movements of placing his hand on the sword handle behind him fell into the sight of the Earthbending Captain. ''A swordsman?'' His eyebrows furrowed with unknown thoughts moving through his mind. Then he took a good look at the man before him. One word ...... Young. From the looks of it, he was barely old enough to be classified an adult. Seeing this, he didn''t know whether to let down his guard or be more suspicious. "...". Silence. However, Contrary to the Captain''s expectations, he received no reply. A distance away, the youth was simply looking at them with narrowed eyebrows, the grip on his sword steadfast as if contemplating something. His frown deepened, feeling something wrong was going on. Just then, Luca who stood silent suddenly raised his gaze upward. "Four down .... Two up .... Hiding on the trees for a second attack I suppose?" His bland words made the Captain''s eyes widen. ''What the ....''. Rustle! At that moment, a rustling sound emerged from the trees. Following which, two shadows dropped down, landing firmly on the earth. "Captain, we''ve surveyed the area. There''s no one else around". "You sure?" "Positive sir. This isn''t an ambush". ''Ambush? Hold on. .... Weren''t these guys here to ambush me?'' "Alright. In that case ....". His eyes turned towards the youth once more, narrowing even further with numerous questions in his mind. "I''ll repeat myself again. Who the hell are you son? ....". Hearing this, Luca''s eyebrows couldn''t get any higher. ''Looks like I misjudged the situation....''. The stirring life force in his body calmed down as he realized what was going on. ''.... They have no idea who I am. In that case ...''. "..... Funny. Do you guys always ask your opponents to identify themselves after trying to kill them?" "Huh ...?" A look of bewilderment appeared on the Earthbender''s face for a moment before returning to normal. "Kill? Our attack was meant to restrict your movements with three earth spikes aimed at your vitals so you don''t do anything rash". His words prompted Luca to take a look at the earth spikes. There was a space in the middle just wide enough to allow a human being to stand without moving. As any rash movement would lead to something valuable getting impaled. "If we wanted you killed, you''d be dead before you could even react". "I see ...". Luca didn''t clear them up on their indirect threat. "Good". The Earthbending Captain nodded. "But that still doesn''t answer my question now, does it?" "Who are you kid? And what is someone your age doing out here in the woods?" "That''s my business". Luca said with a wary expression and darting eyes. "And you just attacked me. Why should I answer your question?" The reply made the expressions of the entire unit change. The Captain''s face changed for a slight moment before returning to normal. "Who the hell do you ....". A private wanted to question back .... "Stay yourself soldier". The Captain uttered, cutting off his men before they could finish. His eyes drifted back to the boy who still stood there with a calm expression. "You''ve got guts kid. I give you that. Captain Lumen. Head of the earth kingdom army''s twelfth unit". He said while folding his arms. "That good enough?" "Captain?" Luca''s eyes widened. "Hold on, you''re earth kingdom soldiers". "That''s right son. Now I ask again. Who are you and what are you doing out here?" The Earthbender asked with folded arms.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Luca remained silent at first, his facial expressions experiencing slight changes. Then, under their gazes, the half unsheathed blade was pushed back into its sheath behind him. "Sasuke ..... Earth Kingdom Refugee". Luca replied while taking a slight bow. His hands coming together to form a cupping motion equivalent to a greeting. At this point, he understood what was going on. His previous assumption that he was discovered was a misjudgement. Coming to think of it, this region wasn''t peaceful and was the base of operations for several factions. When identifying an unknown variable, it was normal to strike first and ask questions Later. After all everyone only had one life. But that wasn''t the point. There was no follow up attack after he dodged, meaning that they truly weren''t trying to kill him. In that case, staining his sword with blood was unnecessary as there were other ways to resolve his current situation. For example, his current actions. Sure enough, the expressions of the Earthbenders eased significantly. Even the stern looking captain had his face return to normal. "...... Refugee, huh?" The Captain uttered in a low tone, his mood changing visibly. During this period, he had been inspecting Luca from head to toe. Black clothes, ruffled hair, dusty shoes. "Where did you come from?" "...... Southwest, Mining Village, across the river. There was a revolt there. Earthbenders freed the town citizens from the Fire Nation before organizing a rebel group.....". He responded while raising his head up. "... I was one of them". "Then why did you come here?" "My .... Family is gone". His fists tightened dramatically as he spoke, portraying his feigned emotions. "I couldn''t bear to stay any longer after burying my mother. That place brought me nothing but pain. And getting to Ba Sing Se alive was the last thing she asked of me. I .... Plan to fulfill her dying wish". "..." The Captain didn''t respond. While the faces of his men grew gloomier. Luca didn''t know what they were thinking but he was sure that some of them wished they could rip all Firebenders into pieces with their bare hands. This was the identity he had forged for himself. No one uttered a single word, until ..... "Stand down men. False alarm, just another unlucky soul who''s fallen victim to the war". War was everywhere and refugees fleeing their villages were far too common. This wasn''t the first time they had seen something like this. The earthbenders dropped their stances and stood at ease. Luca nodded inwardly. "It''s alright kid". The Captain spoke while walking towards him. "Every man standing here has lost something or someone important to them at the hands of the Fire Nation". Stopping a distance away, he raised his hand in a friendly gesture. "We all feel your pain. Isn''t that right soldiers". "Yes sir". "Nevertheless....". Luca saw his facial features grow stern again. "These parts of the forests aren''t safe for travel, especially on foot. How long have you been out here?" "Two days, give or take". "Two days?" The reply stunned him. "The spirits must be favoring you then. Running into disguised enemy forces are quite common around here, alongside thieves, murderers and mercenaries". "Haven''t encountered any of em yet. But I can hold my own if I do". His words caused the Captain to look back at the weapon behind him. "You''re skilled with a sword?" "I learned from my father". Shiing. Luca drew the weapon from the sheath completely and spun it around in a skillful display. "Last thing he taught me the last time I ever saw him". Spewing out lies with a sad face was surprisingly easy. Shiing! The blade was put back. "Impressive". The Captain said, acknowledging his skill with the sword. "But no matter how good you are, you won''t be any match for a Fire Nation unit on your own. Few refugees make it through these parts. They usually go around the river path. Keep going down that way and you''ll eventually get captured and thrown into a Fire Nation Prison detainment". "Oh ....". A genuine frown emerged on his face this time. "I had no idea". At that moment, a corporal from the group arrived while binging six ostrich horses with him. "Then consider yourself lucky". The Captain said lightly, turned around and walked towards his mount as did the rest of the unit. "If you''re heading for Ba Sing Se, I advise you to go north east. Go over the mountain range and stay away from the river till you get to the end". He uttered while pulling the reins. "You''ll survive that way. There''s a town that hasn''t fallen to the Fire Nation yet. A regiment of soldiers is stationed there. If you want to get to Ba Sing Se ....". The Captain stopped and turned his gaze around. "Or just get out of the colonies, it''s your best and fastest bet". "You''ve been out here for two days. Take my advice, take a rest in it before continuing your journey. Sleeping out here for consecutive nights ain''t healthy". Luca listened with interest as he watched the man pull his mount in a certain direction. A frown emerged on his face as he asked. "But if that path leads to Fire Nation, why are you going that way". "That''s classified". He uttered with his back facing Luca. "And none of your business as a civilian. We''re soldiers, we have a mission to complete". "So goodluck kid, don''t die soon". "Hyah!" The sound of running feet resounded as the Earthbending unit rode into the exact same direction the captain just told Luca not to. Looking at the departing ostrich horses, a flash of contemplation passed through Luca''s eyes. A few seconds later, he chuckled. "Well then .....". His hand reached for the scroll tied on his waist. ".... Northeast it is". Opening the scroll and taking a good look, he rolled it up again before adjusting his path and began walking. A town ...... Just what he needed right now. ........ The heat of the afternoon sun was partially blocked by the tall trees hovering over the path. The group of earthbenders watched Luca leave from an elevated distance. "Sir, is it wise to leave him there?" A corporal asked. "Would you rather bring him along with us?" "No sir. That''s not what I meant. I was referring to leaving him on his own". "These are hard times corporal. And many have suffered unjust fates" The Captain''s expression didn''t change in the slightest. "We''ve already done our best to show him the path. Whether he gets there or not and what happens after that, is his problem now". "But you said it yourself sir. These paths are dangerous, especially at night. He might have been lucky before, but the closer he gets to the town, the greater the risk. He might not even last the night". These paths had been cleared up by Fire Nation soldiers, hence little activity. It was also the reason why they choose this path in the first place to avoid running into unwanted trouble. In the Corporal''s eyes, this refugee was lucky to stumble upon it and make it to this point without encountering any danger. But the path to the village would bring that luck to an end. However .... "I disagree with that Corporal". The Captain said something that surprised him. "Sir?" "You didn''t notice, did you?" "Notice what?" "The attack". His thoughts went back to their attack. "Three earth spikes from different directions. An unsuspecting opponent, would be trapped easily. He wasn''t". He uttered with rare solemnity. "His speed when he dodged ..... I haven''t seen anyone display that level of agility in my thirty years of service". "And do you really believe he made it to this point without encountering a single enemy?" The corporal had his eyes widen. Although this path was considered safer, it was just in comparison to the others. That didn''t mean it was danger free. Someone walking for two days without encountering an enemy was improbable. . "But ..... He''s just a swordsman". "We don''t know that". This time, the captain pulled the reins of the ostrich horses towards a certain direction. "..... But something is definitely off about this kid". And then, he flicked it. "Hyah!" His men quickly followed. In the previously quiet forest, the sound of galloping armored ostrich horses could be heard as the Earthbending unit rode east towards their goal. Chapter 27 Haican Southern Earth Kingdom ..... Few hours to sunset ..... ¡°The spirits must be favoring you then. Running into disguised enemy forces are quite common around here, alongside thieves, murderers, and mercenaries¡±. It was three days ago, when he met the Earth Kingdom captain and he was told those exact words. Now three days Later, Luca couldn''t say otherwise even if he was paid. ¡°Intrude.....¡±. - Spirit Chi: -5 - ¡ª Strength 10(14), Dexterity 9(15) Shiing! Luca rushed forward with his body enhanced to varying degrees. Squelch! The sound of flesh being cut through resounded in the otherwise quiet forest. The Fire Nation soldier had his body stiffen, his wide eyes widening even further as the world around him seemed to be in constant motion. Time seemed to slow down infinitely as his brain went into overload and blanked out at the same time. In that one moment, his life history flashed before his eyes. His life growing up in the Fire Nation Colonies, his stern and unsmiling father who was a captain officer in the army. His calm and collected mother, who displayed all the good qualities of a housewife. His life throughout military school, making friends, graduating, getting assigned to the battlefield, his first kill, working his way up the ranks, narrowly escaping death on four occasions, his father''s retirement, his mother''s death, the death of his best friend, death of his school peers in other divisions ¡­. He wasn''t master Fire bender. He wasn''t skilled in any area. He wasn''t the son, friend, father, or neighbor of any shown character in the series. He wasn''t even worth being remembered. After many years, he wasn''t even a lieutenant. He was just a random fire nation mook with a semi tragic life story. One of the vast majority born within the hundred-year war. War never sided with anyone and took from everyone. Both the aggressors and the defenders. He had taken a good number of lives, gained a considerable amount of money, looted many villages and lost a good lot in life. Now today, he lost the last thing he could ever lose. ''Goodbye father...... I''m coming, mom ¡­.''. Thud! The world returned to normal as his spinning head fell to the floor, blood flowing out from the neck area. His eyes were open and the sight before him was the dry, black dirt, but he couldn''t see it. What followed after his death was eternal peaceful silence ....... But unfortunately for some, that silence was only for him. ¡°Idiot!¡± As before his untimely demise, he had screamed at the top of his lungs in an attempt to inform his allies of the appearance of an intruder. This was his job as a lookout. Unfortunately, he never realized that he would lose his life for it when he did. In the small fire nation camp within the earth kingdom forest, everything immediately descended into chaos. ¡°Enemy Attack¡±. Before his eyes, more than a dozen soldiers rushed towards his direction. Some barehanded and others with spears and swords. The leading three all took their stances and thrust their arms forward. Swoosh! The fireballs shot in his direction quickly as Luca raised his blade in a defending posture. Boom! The area he stood was immediately enveloped within the attack, causing a loud explosion. ¡°Got him¡±. ¡°He''s hit ¡­.¡±. ¡°We ¡­.¡±. Their yells were short-lived as several knives were thrown out of the flaming area before they could finish their sentences. Squelch! Caught off guard, they were unable to react, leaving the flying weapons to make a direct hit at their intended parts. The pierced flesh brought about a burst of pain, followed by silence as two of them were pierced straight through the head. The last of the three had the blade inserted into his shoulder. Lucky guy ¡­. Or was he? The pierced area brought about a momentary burst of pain. At least the soldier only felt it for a moment, as the next second, the follow up force impacted as the dagger was thrown with as much strength as a heavily built, professional wrestler. Crack! ¡°Argh!¡± The sharp blade pierced through his skin, straight through his bones. If it weren''t a throwing knife but a spear, his shoulder would have probably been nailed to a nearby tree behind him. The flames hadn''t dissipated, and a figure stepped out of the flames. - Density Shifting - ¡°.... You almost ruined my stuff¡±. Luca uttered with annoyance. He had accrued a large number of herbs and fruits inside the bag on his back. A single fire blast would have burned it all to ash. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! His gaze swept past everyone before him. The sight of him walking out of the flames unscathed drew exclamations and changing expressions. Everyone''s faces had condensed. Especially those at the forefronts. Looking at the two soldiers who had knives in their skulls, a small, unnoticeable, inaudible gulp was taken down their throats. Cold sweats forming on their backs. Thankfully, they weren''t the first ones to charge forward. Otherwise, it was uncertain who would be in their place instead. ¡°I would have preferred to give you all peaceful deaths in your sleep. Looks like that can''t happen¡±. If they were wary before, then his remarks successfully angered them. ¡°Identify yourself. Which rebel force do you come from, Firebender?¡±. ¡°Firebender?¡± Luca raised an eyebrow. He walked out of the flames unharmed, and they thought he was a firebender. ¡°That''s where you''re mistaken. I''m no Fire bender. I am, however .....¡±. Chi flushed down his arm onto his blade. ¡°The last thing you will ever see¡±. ¡°Fire!¡± Several Firebenders all released their flames in unison. At the same time, Luca swung his sword forward. Chi: -100 They were feeling lucky that they weren''t the ones to take the knives? How would they know that it made no difference how they died? On this day, death was inevitable. - Chi Slash, Razor Blades - What followed after the slashing of his sword wasn''t a singular line of energy or a simple enlarged version of it, but a torrential wave of seemingly endless attacks. Razor sharp blades of energy shot towards the Fire Nation group, first coming In contact with their fire blasts. Upon confrontation, it posed no resistance whatsoever, quickly ripping apart the flames and continuing unscathed. Squelch! Squelch! Squelch! The soldiers opened their mouths to scream, barely released a sound before being silenced completely. Without enough time to react, their bodies were split apart into numerous pieces as close to two dozen blades of energy tore through their uniforms, flesh, bones and emerged unfinished on the other side. The chi blades rushed forward rampantly with no control whatsoever, quickly impacting against the area behind the soldiers, who had already been ripped to shreds. Boom! Boom! Boom! Loud collision sounds rang out in the area as the earth experienced a thrashing for a good five seconds, with dust and debris flying into the air to cause a big dust cloud. ''..... Perhaps ¡­.''. Luca''s thoughts began to run rampant as he stared at what he had created while the chi within his body settled down. ''..... I made a miscalculation on the damage assessment ¡­.''. His mind wandered as he stood where he was. Seconds elapsed. Soon enough, the dust began to settle and everything on the other side was made clear. One word. Wrecked. The miniature chi blades released had thoroughly destroyed the Campsite that had been created with effort. The tents, the soil, the trees, the animals ..... All gone. Luca''s eyes drifted to the ground. Deep pits could be seen. The tents had been ripped to pieces, the trees looked as if they had experienced a tornado, with branches and wrecked logs scattered in all directions. This was an attack using a full hundred points of Chi at once. ''..... Yep, definitely underestimated the damage impact''. Shiing! The blade slid back into its sheath. ¡°...... Three days ......¡±. He uttered as he spared a look at the campsite. Blood, ripped up corpses and severed limbs. The depressing atmosphere was tinged with a hint of blood as the metallic smell flooded into his nostrils. Truly disgusting. Aside from the mass destruction, It looked just like all the others. Both before and after he drew his sword from his sheath. ¡°...... Three days ¡­. Six camps ..... Two rebel teams, a mercenary group ......¡±. The Captain was right. Luca had been considerably lucky to walk for two days without encountering a single enemy. And after his encounter with the captain, that luck seemed to turn upside down. In the past three days, he had encountered, stumbled upon and destroyed several enemy groups he had come against. And that was without counting the ones he could and did avoid. Just like this camp, Luca had killed all of them making sure a single soul didn''t escape to tell the tale. Though not like this. At most before, he had killed everyone, absorbed their chi and left while covering his tracks. This move was a momentary idea coming into fruition. Luca had replicated one of Uchiha Madara''s moves in the use of Susanoo. Countless mini blades of energy packed with the more power than a full on Chi infused slash. He had expected it to be difficult to master. The results proved. ...... Quite the contrary. The condensation had gone on so smoothly that he himself had doubts about whether he had achieved success. Or perhaps he did, but the power would not be up to par. It was within this debate that he discovered yet another fire nation outpost and decided to put it to the test. As a result ...... The dissipating dust cloud was enough to give him an estimation. Luca felt like he still vastly underestimated how much control over his own Chi he had until this very moment. Something in this world that was fairly impossible for anyone could be performed so easily. Although it was a bit of a pity for the Chi he didn''t siphon off, Luca didn''t feel bad about the loss. After killing a lot of Fire Nation soldiers, Luca''s reserves had increased considerably. Although not enough to make a fundamental difference, it was notable. In this region, all the information he needed to know had long been extracted from last attacks. His bag was now filled to the brim with all sorts of supplies and herbs he would need, and additional weapons were unnecessary. If anything, he felt slightly sorry for the Komodo Rhino''s that could actually be used as good mounts, but at this point, he wouldn''t need them anymore. Not for where he was going. After three days of traveling and extracting information, Luca determined he was close to his destination. An earth kingdom settlement, one the captain he met last time told him could get him out of the Fire Nation Colonies. In the past three days, he had confirmed this fact himself. Of course, he didn''t expect it to be this far through Fire Nation. Nevertheless, it didn''t matter anymore. So the Komodo Rhino''s weren''t a shame. Riding over on them would only bring about more trouble than it was worth. The camp was best left destroyed as it was now. Taking one last look, Luca turned away from the destroyed outpost. This earth kingdom settlement was once a village called Haican, but due to oppression from the fire nation, numerous people had fled from their homes towards the village. Over time, as one of the last few areas under the Earth kingdom''s control, it''s strategic value and importance grew more and more to this very day. More Earthbenders were stationed there, and the small walls were raised higher and higher with each passing year. Now, it was no longer the small village of the past but a heavily guarded stronghold holding almost thousands of refugees. Luca had seen the much more detailed map. As far as these parts of the Southern Earth Kingdom was concerned, sandwiched between two rivers, it was considered the last Earth kingdom stronghold still under their control. That''s right, the last one. And for the meantime, it would remain that way. For Luca, this was all that he cared about. Sunset was approaching. The map didn''t have a clear image of Haican itself, so Luca could only see what it looked like when he saw it in person. And after walking for so long. Luca standing on a high hill looked at the large city a distance away with tall walls and a whole lot of security. Haican. Chapter 28 Begging A town ...... Just what he needed right now. At least that was what Luca thought. At this point, it was almost sunset. Standing on the side of the mountain range, his destination could be seen right before him. Haican, the last earth kingdom stronghold before Omashu. From the outside, it certainly looked the part. Large stone walls of earth could be seen fencing the previous village from all sides with figures stationed on the walls. From the distance he stood at, a normal person wouldn''t be able to make out a clear picture. - Subskill - Hawkeye - For him, whose''s Marksmanship had exceeded the standard 15 points, a spyglass at this distance wasn''t needed. The guards on the walls all wore green uniforms of varying colors. Some light green, some dark, some with additional colors of gray, dark yellow or brown. Some stood in one place, seemingly immobilized while others walked along the walls as patrols. Large amounts of circular rocks were loaded on the walls, ever ready to be used by the earthbenders in case there was ever an enemy attack. The advantage of tall walls, fortified stronghold and Long ranged attacks was enough to give the Fire Nation a headache. After all, earth was everywhere at their disposal. The earthbenders could just launch boulders from afar at their enemies and squash them to death with falling rocks. In fact, they had. This part of the Earth kingdom was separated by two rivers on its sides. Crossing the river west would lead to the Mining Village he had just crossed from (As if going towards Fire Nation Lands), and East leading to the Koala Mountain Range that led to Omashu. Aside from crossing the river, the only other way to get there was to go inland North until you met the river''s end. Then go around it and continue your journey. But that would take longer and with the war going on and bandits everywhere, it wasn''t necessarily safer. ¡°.... Most refugees usually go around the river path .....¡±. That was what the Earth kingdom captain meant when he said those words. Luca however, wasn''t most refugees. Crossing the river to the other side was a definite must in order to avoid Fire Nation on the lookout for him. And just as he expected, Fire Nation troops on the other side of the river hadn''t even heard of his existence. That aside..... Rustle ¡­. At that moment, the sound of rustling leaves came from a distance. Luca turned around, his hand reaching for his sword. The bushes were pushed aside, following which, three figures appeared in the open. ¡°It''s ok dear, we''re almost .......¡±. The leading male had his voice stuck in his throat at the sight before him. It was a young man, a really young man. But that wasn''t the point. The point was that this boy had a sword on his back with his hand placed on the handle. His posture looked as if he were ready to cut them down at a moments notice. ''Oh no ...... Did we encounter a bandit? .....''. His reaction quickly attracted the attention of his wife and sister who similarly froze in their tracks. A strong tension immediately filled the atmosphere as both sides stared at each other without making a sound. Luca observed the new arrivals with scrutiny. One male, two females. They wore green clothing with varying degrees of intensity. Some light, some several shades darker and small mixture of light colors. The man had a bag on his back and a hat on his head. The latter which was shared with his female companions. No stances, no weapons ..... ''..... Not enemies then''. ¡°Um ..... Hello there .....¡±. Than (That''s the actual name), the leading male uttered awkwardly. ¡°You''re..... Refugees?¡± ¡°Oh? ¡­. Yes, yes of course we are¡±. ¡°I see¡±. Luca released a nod while releasing his grip on the blade. His actions earned a sigh of relief from the good looking middle-aged man. ¡°I apologize. I thought you were ..... Others¡±. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. It had been a year since the other villages in these parts had been conquered. Yet, the Fire Nation hadn''t managed to secure Haican despite infusion of more manpower. Hence, as the only refuge left standing, it was a literal beacon for all refugees trapped between the two rivers. ¡°Oh ¡­. Never mind that. It''s fine¡±. The man scratched the back of his head with a nervous smile. For a moment, he thought their good luck would end, and they were about to be robbed before reaching their destination. ¡°So ..... Are you going to Haican as well?¡± Than called out to Luca who was moving towards the edge of the cliff. ¡°Yes ¡­". Luca responded, then under their astonished and frightened eyes, he jumped down. The group of three quickly rushed to the edge in panic, looking down only to see Luca''s figure disappear into the dense trees. ......... If the stronghold building wasn''t enough to let Luca know that this was the place he was looking for, then what he saw as he continued his journey did. Refugees. Lots and lots of refugees. Going down the edge on the other side of the mountain range, Luca began to see first hand what the war had done to people in these areas. At first, it was only one or two. Then the number increased as he walked forward. Due to the large amount of trees, he couldn''t see the people underneath them from a high vantage point. It was different now. Men, women, elderly, children ..... So many people whose lives had been uprooted by the fire nation. Some looked fine, slightly fatigued, with bags on their backs carrying tents and supplies just like him. From his understanding, these were the ones in the war who were considered well off. And by that, he didn''t mean rich people, he meant those who still had food and water to hold them by since they became refugees, whenever that might be. Perhaps coming from shorter distances. Others ..... Haggard, scrawny, looked like they hadn''t eaten for days. They staggered towards the structure in the distance without much light in their eyes. Some barely holding on purely due to their willpower and hope for a better future. Hope that they could get out of those worn torn lands to a place where better lives awaited them. They had all run from their homes after the Fire Nation came in full force. They knew the future awaiting them wouldn''t be anything good if they dared to dilly-dally. Unfortunately, little did they know that for some of them, arriving in this place wasn''t exactly going to bring solutions to their problems. At least, that was what Luca noticed when he finally arrived. There was a large clearing area just outside the stronghold, and numerous people could be seen crowding the place. Stationed at different areas, Luca could see several Earthbenders who were seemingly tasked with maintaining order. Their stern expressionless faces alerted everyone to know that anyone who dared to cause trouble would be sorry. The refugees seemed to understand. Some stood, some sat, some huddled together at a corner. ''Aren''t they supposed to be getting helped? Why are they still so many of them?'' Taking a look around, Luca frowned slightly. The tense and depressing atmosphere was quite suffocating. The question was well intended. As for the gates to Haican itself ...... There were no gates. Instead, what Luca saw at what was supposed to be the entrance was a large wall with no openings whatsoever. Standing in front of that wall were three earth kingdom soldiers with menacing expressions. ''..... What''s happening here ¡­.''? ¡°Please sir. Would you be so kind as to spare some food¡±. At that moment, a slight mutter for help came from his left, causing Luca to face that direction. ¡°Huh?¡­". It was a child. Female, she didn''t look like she was over eight. With pitch-black hair that looked unkempt, dirty hands and shaggy clothing. Despite her tattered clothes, they looked to be too big for her thin figure as the girl looked to be heavily malnourished. ¡°..... Please ¡­". Seeing Luca looking at her, her eyes widened, forming a heartwarming pitiful look . ¡°.... I . I haven''t eaten anything in days¡±. Her voice began breaking down into choking sobs. Tears streaming down her face. ¡°Please ..... Please, my stomach hurts ¡­. Mommy ¡­. She ..... She can''t get up ¡­.¡±. The little girl''s young body was trembling. ¡°.... I asked ¡­ Nobody would give ¡­.¡±. The pitiful sound of a young girl''s begging voice resounded, silencing whatever soft sounds could be heard in their surroundings. Many refugees nearby took a look at the body of the trembling young girl and felt their hearts ache at the sight. Some lowered their heads in shame, others turned away with indifference. ¡°Don''t be impulsive¡±. A distance away, a young boy holding a bowl of rotten congee clenched his palm and slowly stood from his seat. He didn''t make it all the way however, as he was stopped by the older man beside him. ¡°.... It''s not worth it ¡­. We barely have enough as we are. You can''t afford to give it to someone else¡±. His face was stern, and uncompromising causing the young boy to freeze and return to his seat. The old man who stopped him breathed a sigh of relief, his old eyes flashing with a hint of grief. Luca could feel multiple gazes fixed on him, probably wanting to see what choice he made. ¡°Is your mother still ..... Awake?¡± Luca didn''t immediately answer the girl, but asked her a question of his own. ¡°She ¡­ She .....¡±. The girl spoke incoherently. ¡°She''s awake ¡­. But too weak to get up¡±. ¡°I see ..... Well, I''m sorry little one. But I won''t give you food for free¡±. His words caused her trembling body to freeze for a moment ¡­. right before it started shaking again. Luca could see the slight hope in her eyes dying out. Her eyes getting more watery with each passing second as tears promised to burst out in torrents. ¡°However ¡­.¡±. At that moment, Luca reached into a side of the bag he carried and took out a few fruits. The girl who was ready to cry her heart out stopped immediately at the sight of possible food. ¡°..... I will trade it to you if you answer a few of my questions¡±. ¡°I ¡­. You ¡­. What? ¡­.¡±. Seeing her confused expression, Luca let out a slight smile. ¡°I''ll ask you a few things, you answer, and you can take these fruits to your mother to enjoy. Can you do that?¡± Barely a moment passed, she was nodding vigorously. ¡°Good. Now, why is everyone still waiting outside?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°I mean, why haven''t they allowed you to go inside yet?¡± ¡°I ¡­. I''m not sure ..... Mommy only told me that the soldiers said we would get food at sunset¡±. ¡°She also said something about an announcement.....¡±. ''¡­. Is that so ¡­''? Luca thought to himself while taking the little girl''s hands and stuffing the two fruits into each one. ¡°You work is complete. Now go and feed your mother¡±. ¡°I ¡­. I ¡­". Once again, she released incoherent words for a few seconds before coming to hr senses. Following which, she bowed down at a ninety-degree angle. ¡°Thank you sir ..... Thank you ¡­.¡±. The girl uttered promptly then ran with renewed vigor towards the distance as if afraid Luca would change his mind. Luca paid her no heed. His mind preoccupied by what the little girl had said. Sunset, huh? No wonder so many people were outside the stronghold and hadn''t gone in yet. Numerous thoughts flew through his mind as he sat down on the spot and sat comfortably. From the looks of it, no one here looked to be rushing to question or leave. However, he didn''t care. Perhaps the real deal was happening at sunset. Time passed. Eventually, the sun set and darkness rapidly encroached from the horizon. And just like Luca had guessed, with the sun disappearing, the stronghold which had been sealed off suddenly opened. This movement attracted a wave of refugees who looked over at the Fire Nation. ¡°Alright then ¡­.¡±. A man could be seen stepping out of the stronghold as the walls opened up for him to pass through. Walking forward a few feet and stopping, he swept his eyes across the large number of refugees that had appeared. ¡°I will take it as all the refugees for today¡±. Chapter 29 Profession During the Hundred-Year War, the three most important things were the following. Food, Water, and manpower. In any war that lasts even a fraction of this one, supplies would always be required in large quantities. In this case, the Fire Nation was certainly having an easier time than the Earth Kingdom. Strongholds, bases, outposts, they all ran on food for its inhabitants to survive. The Fire Nation could simply plunder and pillage to make up for their needs. The Earth Kingdom, on the other hand, couldn''t behave so recklessly as they would be robbing their own territory. For the Firebenders who had mastered maritime fleets and had the sea advantage, transportation of food, weapons and other things wasn''t a concern anymore. Regular resupplies were scheduled successively. The Earth Kingdom didn''t have such convenience. As the Fire Nation encroached more on their lands with each passing year, good food had become a luxury for the vast majority of earth kingdom citizens. With the Fire Nation''s early attack and the Earth kingdom''s slow response during the early years of the war, the outcome had already been set in stone. All villages the Fire Nation encountered were captured, occupied or simply burned to cinders. At first, the Earth Kingdom didn''t take it too seriously, feeling that they had simply lost some land to their invaders. But subsequent developments let them know how stupid their slow response decision was. The fall of several settlements led to a chain reaction that the Earth Kingdom army didn''t notice until it was too late. Entrenching themselves in captured land, the Fire Nation immediately attacked unrelentingly, occupying all trade routes in their area and successfully creating a rift between one part of the earth kingdom and another. In this way, the cornered land wouldn''t be able to receive supplies from allies and strongholds in other regions. With starving and delaying tactics, they pressed their advantage and colonized more and more settlements within a sort period of time. The Earth Kingdom eventually reacted, but the damage was done. The already occupied land now served as a springboard for more as they burned the towns, villages, and settlements around many earth kingdom strongholds, isolating them from the main army and strangling their food supply. When food rations were depleted, the soldiers were soon defeated with the passing of time. Their invaders had used this method to defeat base after base while suffering minimal casualties and retaining large numbers of personnel. Sometimes, paying a certain price, but it paled in comparison to the rewards. It was no wonder the Earth kingdom was losing. One wrong move had led to a chain reaction leading them to a downward spiral. Prices of food skyrocketed like there was no tomorrow as food transportation in certain regions was no longer possible. Soldiers barely had enough to fill their stomachs. So you could imagine what the refugees who had fled their homes were experiencing. Currently, Haican was experiencing a similar situation. All surrounding settlements East, South, and West had either been destroyed or occupied by the Fire Nation. The land North, although not occupied by invaders, was fraught with dangers. Without bending, those who took that path might not survive. There were no villages to obtain supplies from, showing that the Fire Nation was using the same tactics as always. And refugees gathered at the stronghold for food and a safe haven every day, consuming whatever they had left. All these facts showed that this seemingly strong fortress was actually in a precarious situation. One wrong decision was enough for everything to come crumbling down on itself. Hence, begs the question. How exactly were the soldiers stationed here going to provide for all these people? Boom! The sound of rumbling earth resounded throughout the air, alerting the refugees to the sudden change. Everyone looked at the wall only to see it open up in the middle while an Earth kingdom soldier of unknown rank stepped outside alongside several more Earthbenders behind him. ¡°Alright, I''ll take it that these are all for today ¡­". He uttered while sweeping his gaze through the large crowd. The emergence of the earth kingdom soldiers immediately made the crowd restless as numerous people moved from their positions and began to press forward frantically. All sorts of words, roars, complaints, and requests flying from their mouths as they sought to speak to the man in charge. Their faces full of anxiety, fear, panic, relief ¡­. Unfortunately ¡°Order!¡± Crack! The loud roar doused the hot enthusiasm back to its original level. As if that weren''t enough, a large boulder emerged from the floor, floating high over their heads as a display to calm them down. It worked wonders. Seeing the crowd quiet, the man nodded and continued. ¡°Welcome all of you. I am the leader of this fortress, and you may all refer to me as Captain Li Shan .....¡±. His voice was loud and sonorous, made that way, so everyone could hear him. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°.... We are from the military unit of the great city of Omashu. Tasked by king Bumi to bring as many refugees as possible to Omashu''s lands¡±. Once again, restlessness emerged as his words stirred up the crowd. This time, he didn''t interrupt and let them stir for several seconds before continuing. ¡°We can all see what has happened to our country. All experienced the impact this war has had on our lives firsthand¡±. He uttered with a gesture and his voice took a solemn tone laced with a hint of sadness. ¡°Most of you have fled from the places you call home and lost people dear to you. Hungry, starving, cold ¡­. You are not the first group of refugees to arrive here. Many of us have felt the same pain. So do rest assured that we will help you to the.". In the crowd, Luca couldn''t help but furrow his eyebrows. Something ¡­. Didn''t quite seem right. He listened to the words of the Earth Captain, traces of doubt emerging on how they planned to transport this many people. His mood shifting uneasily for some reason. It was slight, so slight that ¡­. ¡°..... I am under the orders of The Monarch Of Omashu himself to gather as many refugees as we can support towards somewhere you can be safe from the Fire Nation''s advance. Scattered, we will be easily destroyed. Only by coming together as one force can we win this war, with each one of us contributing to the greater cause¡±. The Captain paused, letting his words sink in before clearing his throat. ¡°Many of you are farmers, carpenters, blacksmiths, herbalists, architects, and the likes. Most of you might even be Earthbenders. With the war ongoing, Omashu requires skilled workers with expertise in various professions. With your contribution, our offense against the invaders will place us in a more advantageous position. Which brings us to the next course of events ..... The recruitment selection¡±. Thud! Thud! The soldiers walked forward from behind him and stood in different areas. Murmurs moved through the crowd at their movements. Luca raised an eyebrow. ¡°As I just stated, many of you possess skills that we require. While we can provide you with food, clothing and shelter within this base now and safe transport to the city in a few hours. But first we need to determine what exactly your addition can bring to The Great City Of Omashu". The deep voice full of vigor resounded through the open area as fell into the ears of the refugees. ¡°This will determine where we will place you in the employment guild once you are there so you can fit into the city''s system. That way you can make a livelihood, provide for yourself and your families. Create a better future for your loved ones¡±. His words didn''t earn a wave of applause or nods, but instead, more murmurs. Luca could hear the muttering all around him. ''........ Huh ¡­. ''. He resisted the urge to chuckle. ''..... I should have known''. Thud! The earth kingdom soldiers all stood in a single file and stomped on the floor. A small earth wall barely reaching a man''s waist emerged from the ground, effectively separating the soldiers and the civilians apart completely. ¡°These men are my trusted soldiers. They will ask you various questions on your professions and abilities while determining your eligibility and the value your skills possess. After this is done, you will be given food, water and arranged for an escort to Omashu". The man uttered with an expressionless face as he finished his announcement. However ...... The murmurs and small talks escalated immediately as a large number of refugees began to discuss among themselves. Seeing this, the captain didn''t react and stood where he was without change. Just watched these low lives release their exclamations for several seconds before he raised his hand to signal their silence. "Now then, let''s begin". His voice stopped, but that meant it was time for the soldiers to do their job. ¡°Line up in three single files and walk up for your assessment. If anyone is caught making a disturbance, they will be treated as a spy from the Fire Nation and arrested immediately¡±. The murmurings ceased once again as the soldiers threatened. ¡°A list will be called out publicly. If it''s your area of expertise, come out and stand in the designated area¡±. ¡°Professional Cook ...... Engineer ....... Architect ...... Blacksmith ...... Geographer ..... Machine builder ..... Miner ..... Nurse ...... Herbalist ..... A Warrior with fighting experience ..... Ferryman ..... And benders of any element¡±. The Earthbender finished reading out the scroll in his possession and looked to the crowd. As soon as his words fell, people in the crowds began to move. The large portion of them were men of varying ages. At the forefront was a fat man with worn out clothes and a big belly. Judging from his look, the fact that he was at the forefront, and the addition of a Professional cook being the first occupation to be called out, it was no doubt that this fatso was a chef. He pulled a little girl beside him with a happy smile plastered on his haggard face, looking like he had just won a lottery. ¡°.... Dad, are we gwaing To Owa shoe?¡± By his side, a little girl with dirty hair, brown eyes and rough clothes asked curiously with her immature language skills as she saw her father moving forward. ¡°We sure are pumpkin. We sure are¡±. The man uttered with a relieved smile as he turned to look at his daughter lovingly. ''¡­. The numbers aren''t much .....''. Luca took a look at the moving crowd. After staying here for half an hour, he had a rough estimate of how many people were taking refuge at this stronghold. More than a thousand. Perhaps close to two thousand. And judging from the Captain''s words, they weren''t the first to come to this place. Understandable, but that meant that thousands of refugees had come to this place all to escape. Despite this, the total number of people moving towards the gate wasn''t as large as he expected. Barely over a hundred. This indicated that the people with mastery on the listed professions weren''t many. If Luca had to take a guess. The vast majority of them, just like the fatty were probably taking up cooking occupation and warriors with fighting experience. Rumble! With the call completed, a small rumble resounded as the fence created by the earthbenders created an opening. The fatty at the forefront sped his footsteps with his daughter in hand. However ..... Crack! A large rock protruded from the ground, blocking the fatty just as he was about to enter. ¡°I''m sorry, but you''re not qualified to enter¡±. ¡°What?¡± The fatty had his eyes widen. ¡°But I''m a professional chef. I had my own restaurateur before it was destroyed¡±. Facing his declaration, the soldier stated plainly. ¡°I wasn''t referring to you sir¡±. His gaze lowered downwards before falling on the little girl. Seeing this, the timid child trembled and moved behind her father. ¡°.... Well, this is interesting¡­.¡±. Luca thought to himself at the unexpected turn of events. ¡°Wait ..... What?¡± ¡°The call was specifically for those skilled in the listed areas. Or do you plan to tell me that this little girl has such level of expertise?¡± Chapter 30 Trap Southern Earth Kingdom ¡­. Inner Haican Stronghold ..... Sunset. ..... After many months of aiding refugees, the food supply in possession was gravely depleted. Hence, every last morsel needed to be properly utilized to avoid waste. At least, that''s what the soldiers said. However ........ Looking at the bowl of congee placed beside him, Luca found it difficult to stir up an appetite. The smell emitted wasn''t pleasant, it was cold and exuded a smell akin to food close to getting rotten. ''¡­ Food? More like scraps ¡­''. This was the food meant for refugees. And it was the food they had dished out to the civilians who had gone into the stronghold after registration. Thinking back to the registration, Luca felt a little odd. The questions asked were simple really. Just names, where you''re from, if you had any family members, if you were a bender, and your area of experience. Honestly, it was too easy. At least ¡­. That was what he thought. There were no body checks, no searching through their belongings, no asking for proof of identity. Not so fun fact, passports existed in this medieval fantasy world. Luca, who didn''t have one, was initially worried that something might happen. As a result ¡­. Nothing. His sword wasn''t even confiscated. ''Are all military bases like this?'' It couldn''t be helped. From Luca''s perspective, this stronghold was severely lacking in vigilance. Worst of all, it was wartime. It was normal to accept and care for refugees, but the fact that they didn''t undergo strict checks was a bit astounding. Weren''t they scared that Fire Nation spies would infiltrate the base? With such laxity, all the Fire nation had to do was send a few hundred Firebenders disguised as refugees. As soon as they entered the stronghold, they would use their bending to wreak havoc while reinforcements promptly followed. Storming the base in one go and capturing it completely. Honestly, he didn''t understand why the Fire Nation found it difficult to destroy this place. Of course, this was what he thought initially. However, seeing the large number of soldiers in the stronghold, his suspicions eased slightly. Still, something seemed ..... Off about this place. As a guy with the memories of a former Fire Nation spy, that was saying something. ''...... Travelling great distances ..... Just for this?'' No matter what area of expertise you filled in, there was no change in general treatment like Luca had expected. Even the two sole engineers in the batch were treated the same rotten food the other men and women were. Apparently, it was also the food that would be given to the other refugees outside after their departure. Thankfully, he wasn''t hungry. And even if he was, he saw no need to eat this. They had been placed in a large empty room within the stronghold after entering and left to fill their stomachs before being taken to Omashu. That was some time ago. At that moment, the door was pushed open. Luca turned his gaze to see several soldiers walk in and giving instructions and gestures. ''Looks like it''s time to go''. A few minutes later..... A group of people could be seen standing in a large open area within the Haican Stronghold. Numbering more than a hundred, with the large majority being men and a certain percentage of women mixed in the group. There were no children. Not a single one. As far as the eye could see, Luca who was eighteen years of age was the youngest of the bunch. They all wore different clothing, carried different expressions and were of different ages. But currently, they all had one thing in common. They were Earth Kingdom refugees. Rumble! With a set of fluid movements, the man dressed in Earth Kingdom uniform used his bending on the hard floor a few meters away from them. Rocks shifted and moved unnaturally as the upper layer of the earth was removed to reveal a secret passageway underneath it. ¡°This way ¡­.¡±. The Earthbender didn''t utter another word. Just stretched out his hand in a gesturing motion. Luca could see several refugees without any relations take a look at each other. All carrying varying emotions and unknown thoughts as they followed instructions and walked down the passage leading to an underground tunnel. ¡°Please move ¡­". The Earthbender gestured towards the underground passage as he saw Luca standing still. ¡°.. ¡­ Of course .". He uttered with a nod, took a look around and followed the others into the passage. His mind playing back the events that took place some time ago. .......... ¡°Wait ..... What?¡± ¡°The call was specifically for those skilled in the listed areas. Or do you plan to tell me that this little girl has such level of expertise?¡± The sudden turn of events not only shocked the fat man but also those behind him. ¡°What the hell do you mean by that?¡± The fat man who was smiling foolishly a minute ago was now roaring angrily like an enraged lion. ¡°I mean that you are permitted to receive refuge inside the fortress. She, on the other hand, is not permitted and hence must remain out here¡±. ¡°But ..... She''s my daughter¡±. The chef yelled at the top of his lungs. ¡°My only child ¡­". ¡°..¡± This time, the Earthbender didn''t reply. Looking at the timid little girl, his heart shook for a moment. However ..... The complex expression on his face disappeared after a moment. Without uttering another word, his stance was clearly displayed. ¡°Hey. ¡­. What the hell is happening?¡± ¡°Why can''t that guy go in with his daughter?¡± ¡°Are you saying our occupation only counts for one of us? What about my family?¡± ¡°Mine too. You can''t be saying we should leave our family behind right?¡±. People from behind who saw this immediately changed their expressions. Murmurs emerged from the crowd before erupting into an uproar. It started with the chef, then the others picked up one after another. Soon, a large amount of the crowd grew restless as people demanded to know what was happening. Despite being a bender and the others being regular humans, the Lieutenant was inevitably flustered at such a large uproar. ¡°Captain ¡­.¡±. He turned his head to the Captain standing a distance away. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°Enough!¡± The Captain stomped his foot against the floor, causing the earth to rumble under the feet of the refugees. The scale wasn''t enough to engulf all of them. Quite far from it, but don''t forget that he wasn''t alone. At the edges of the open space were several Earthbenders tasked with maintaining order. They immediately cooperated with their leader and simultaneously performed similar actions, stomping the earth with their foot and sending a rumble through the floor. With their few numbers, a dozen Earthbenders working together weren''t capable of actually harming this many refugees with a single move. But that wasn''t the intent to begin with as the sound of rumbling was enough. And just as he thought, the entire crowd was quieted down at the display of bending ability. ¡°In this stronghold, order is paramount. Now then ¡­.¡±. He uttered with narrowing eyes¡­ ¡°... I believe I haven''t made something clear. The first call was for those with expertise in the listed skills. You all will be the first group of refugees to be transported to Omashu". ¡°However, note that this privilege only exists for you. It is unfortunate, but you will not be allowed to bring others with you, no matter who they are¡±. Worried murmurs began to break out as his words fell. The Captain didn''t care and continued calmly. ¡°..... This is due to the overall transport arrangements. The channel through which we can take you to Omashu is secret and restrictive. This alongside other factors make the transportation of a larger number of refugees difficult and proving beyond our capacity. Now, we can barely take more than a hundred people at a time. If more are added, our movements might be discovered by the Fire Nation¡±. If there was anything that could either scare or calm down Earth Kingdom refugees, depending on how it was used, it was those two words, ¡°Fire Nation¡±. In this case, it was the latter. ¡°But ¡­. But what about our families?¡± A male voice fell into the ears of the captain. Turning his head, he saw a man among the group of the first listed. "I''m sorry, you are?'' ¡°Tong. My area of expertise is in architecture, and I have a wife and three children. There is no way I''m going to Omashu while leaving them here¡±. ¡°There is no need to be worried. Those of you who have family members should be at ease as they will be arranged to follow in the second transport to Omashu. We will separate them from them the rest, and they will be taken into the fortress to receive food and water after you have departed to avoid any leaks. You will be able to reunite with your loved ones in at most twenty-four hours after your arrival in Omashu. Similar concerns have been raised by others before you, and there hasn''t been any problems in the past few months¡±. Once again, Murmurs emerged in the crowd as information was passed on and disseminated quickly. Seeing that many still weren''t satisfied with the answer ...... ¡°Of course, you can decide to leave. No one is stopping you, but be warned. The lands North are fraught with dangers. If you are found, the best-case scenario will be working hard labor for the fire nation or thrown into prison. As for the worst case ..... Well, I hope no one ever has to experience the full extent of horrors that can be unleashed on people¡±. The man who was worried about his family froze for a second. The thought of wandering the land North to leave Fire Nation colonial territory alongside the Captain''s words flew through his mind and sent a chill down his spine. Why were so many people coming to Haican? Wasn''t it simply to avoid the dangers they would have to experience themselves if they travelled north? The closest refuge was Omashu, and rumors of this stronghold transporting refugees had already spread far and wide. They were all searching for a better life, safe behind the walls of Omashu. What would happen if he decided not to agree and instead took his family to travel to there on his own? The answer was obvious. Captured, robbed, killed, or perhaps all of the above. If he was really unlucky, then even death would become a luxury. Apparently, the vast majority had also realized this. Everyone was silent. The Earth Captain turned his attention to the vast majority. ¡°Once you have been screened, you will be given food, water, tickets and arranged for transportation if you desire it. Whether you want to go or not ¡­. The choice is yours¡±. Those were his last words before turning around and walking into the stronghold. ¡°Daddy ..... are you leaving me?¡± The cry of a young girl fell into the ears of the chef. ¡°No sweetie ¡­. I ¡­". The fatty was caught in a dilemma. ....... The memories flashed through his mind as Luca and the refugees group walked within the underground passageway. After the rotten food, when they first gathered at the open space, there was no sign of the fat chef among the group. Apparently, he made his decision to stick with his daughter instead of leaving her in the hands of earth kingdom soldiers and heading to Omashu by himself after the captain left. He wasn''t the only one. Several others decided to stay with their families and wait to see what happens. Especially those single parents who had kids and the likes. But that was the minority. As there were some who choose to stay, the vast majority also choose to leave. After all, it was either that or treading the lands to Omashu on their own. Bounty hunters, robbers, thieves, and Fire Nation soldiers could be encountered at any time. Compared to that, it was better their families be left behind to meet with them later. The other option was too risky. As the tunnel that it was, the surroundings were dark. The group numbering more than a hundred people moved forward through the help of torches carried by the Earth Kingdom soldiers. There were three up front, two in the middle, and three more at the back of the group. Time passed. No one knew how far they had walked or how long, either. Some people in the group of weak refugees were already experiencing cramps. ¡°Sir ¡­. How much longer ?¡± One asked in slight exasperation. ¡°It''s a long way to Omashu....¡±. The leading soldier uttered solemnly. ¡°This underground tunnel leads right under Fire Nation troops, close to the riverside. Once we get to the end, we can take a break before heading to the river. A ship will be waiting to take us across. Several units from General Fong''s fortress will be on the other side, from there will be smooth sailing¡±. He explained exactly how they were going to get where they were going. In the underground tunnel, his words were loud enough, allowing everyone to hear. His words successfully filled the refugees with renewed vigor as their weariness was temporarily forgotten, and they continued on their journey. Time elapsed as the group kept on walking ...... Until ¡­. They came to a dead end. ....... Southern Earth Kingdom. ¡­ Inside a secluded bay ..... Rumble! The sound of rocks moving resounded throughout the cove as inside a deep cave, a large rock wall could be seen giving way. ¡°Right this way ¡­.¡±. The leading earth kingdom soldiers stood to the sides and stretched their arms in a gesturing posture. The evening moonlight shone into the area of the sea partly enclosed by land. A large number of refugees immediately poured out of the tunnel and walked towards the outside of the cave. ¡°Ahh it''s finally over¡±. ¡°Thank the spirits. My feet are sore¡±. ¡°Are we finally here?¡± ¡° ..... We made it". As soon as they exited the tunnel, many refugees only moved forward several feet before collapsing to the ground. Their feet aching from such a long-distance walk. Luca stepped out of the tunnel as well, his gaze shifting upward as he quickly examined his surroundings. Their current location was a cove. A small area of the sea partly enclosed by land. Looking upward, a round hole could be seen at the middle of the ceiling, allowing moonlight to pour into the bay. Meanwhile, a small stone hill lay before them, obscuring their vision from what lay beyond. ¡°It''s a cove¡±. What Luca could deduce, others could as well. ¡°A cove? That means there''s water nearby¡±. ¡°.... That way ¡­. Over that hedge¡±. According to their escorts, an earth kingdom ship would be waiting to pick them up. Following which, they would be transported to Omashu. The fatigue accumulated from such a long journey was swept aside as younger men with more vigor began to walk up the small stone hill to see for themselves if there was a ship waiting for them on the other side. However ...... Thud! Thud! Thud! The sound of footsteps approaching from the distance soon fell into their ears. At first, it was only those at the forefront, but with everyone quieting down, the noise spread. Before they could understand what was happening. Figures could be seen appearing from the other side of the small hill. Had their escort come so soon? The refugees were overjoyed for a moment, Unfortunately, that joy soon turned to horror the following second as the figures on the other side of the hill made themselves visible to the refugees group. Red uniforms with dark strikes, weapons in hand, skull shaped helmets. The refugee''s worst nightmare ..... ¡°Fire Nation!¡± The suffocating silence was broken as a middle-aged man screamed at the top of his lungs while pointing at the new arrivals. Eyes filled with fear and despair. That seemed to awaken everyone, as the refugees who were just enjoying their departure from the tunnel immediately turned around and rushed back towards it as fast as their legs could carry them. Luca was no exception. Unlike the others, he had barely stepped out of the cave entrance and was the first to react after spotting the appearance of fire nation soldiers. He turned around in an attempt to go back into the tunnel created by the earth bender escorts. However, the sight he saw when he did stunned him. Rumble! Under Luca''s gaze, the wall of earth emerged from the ground and sealed the tunnel entrance shut firmly. Gone was the tunnel. Now facing the refugees was a dead end. The Earthbenders had trapped them all here. Chapter 31 Bounty Hunter Southern Earth Kingdom. Luca''s POV ..... The rumbling sound of moving earth fell into my ears. In the current situation, it was especially jarring. It had happened right under my gaze. More than a hundred people had stepped out of the tunnel. Many of them had left their families back at the stronghold due to the reasons given by the Captain. After all, it was ultimately better than having to travel and rely on themselves through the dangerous earth kingdom lands. Without knowing how exactly the transport would take place, even I had no doubts about the reason given by the Earth bending captain. After all, this was war time. His explanation had some merit. I thought so, and so did they. But the situation had changed now. The rendezvous point we were supposed to meet Earth Kingdom forces that would take us swiftly to Omashu now had Fire Nation soldiers. Why in hell was that? I didn''t know but I couldn''t spare the time to think about it now. I turned around in an attempt to dash back into the cave. And that''s when I saw it. The very same Earthbenders that brought us here had sealed up the entrance in one motion. The hole that was previously made was now filled up like it had never existed before. Any doubts that could have possibly risen were squashed immediately. The dots connected as I realized where exactly that sense of unease came from. It was a trap all along. The Earthbenders waited for the whole group to step out of the cave, staying far back until they were the only ones left. I hadn''t followed all the way, staying at the cave entrance. While others walked forward. Those behind me were too immersed in the shock and horror of the sight of Fire Nation that they didn''t react immediately. I was different. I turned tails and ran into the cave only for this to happen. But here''s the thing. Why? There was no way this was a coincidence. I wasn''t foolish enough to think in that direction. Coupled with my previous suspicions, it all but confirmed that something was terribly wrong. They knew the Fire Nation was already here. And they brought them and closed the entrance without so much as a sound or second look. ''..... We''re .... being handed over to the Fire Nation .....''. Once the thought appeared, it was firmly rooted there, refusing to make way for other possibilities. My eyes narrowed as I rushed to the now sealed entrance. The sound of clamoring footsteps behind me let me know that these people had finally come back to their senses and were now running for their lives. But it was too late. At least, too late for them. I remember that the initial roll call for occupations included benders of any element. Not one person among the group of a hundred plus was registered. Understandable really, as anyone with bending ability would already be fighting in the war or imprisoned by fire nation if not already dead. Be it voluntarily, or forcefully drafted. The Earth kingdom had lowest bending ratio despite having the largest population. That didn''t mean their number of benders was the smallest of the four nations but that despite having the largest population, less than 15% made up the overall bending population. Only one out of a hundred civilians could become benders. If not for their large numbers, they wouldn''t have lasted so long in this war. How could they be wandering around as poor refugees? Unless one of them was a hidden earthbender with a decent skill level, no one would be able to open this tunnel. They were trapped here. But I wasn''t. It was times like this that I was grateful I had gotten Density Shifting in my perk wish. Nothing could serve as an obstacle. This wall was no exception. The chi in me stirred as my body turned illusory and I rushed straight through the wall of earth without stopping. ''Sorry ...''. I whispered inwardly at the thought of what might happen to these refugees. They had found themselves in the same situation as me. But I was special. I could escape. But they couldn''t. I was abandoning them to fend for themselves. Unfortunately, it meant nothing. Whatever sympathy I felt would only remain that way. Sympathy. There was no way I was going to risk my life to help these people against unknown odds. Right now, I had other things to take care of. For starters, the earthbenders waiting for me on the other side ......... Northwestern Earth KingdomThe author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Mo Ce Sea Timespan: ...... Caw! The sound of an aerial predator resounded in the skies. While a great distance away below on land .... Or rather, sea was an iron vessel sailing through Northwestern Mo Ce waters. A large mass of steel and iron shaped for battle. With a red flag sporting fire symbol at the top of its mast. Fire Navy Cruiser. Standing on the deck, looking into the distance was a short, slightly fat looking middle aged man with an expressionless face. And behind him were two Fire Nation Officers standing at attention just in case he had any orders to dish out. Captain Han. It had been more than a week since he departed from the stronghold near Senlin Village. Leaving matters to the discretion of his newly promoted Lieutenant to deal with. That''s right. Newly promoted. As for his previous lieutenant ..... The mere thought of what had happened was enough to turn his mood gloomy. It was a simple mission to destroy an old farming settlement. What should have been an easy job turned into a nightmare for those assigned to it as a report came to his desk the following morning that the group consisting of three dozen men had been wiped out. The village was destroyed, razed to the ground. But his men had died miserably. Not a single one made it back alive. Furious, Captain Han investigated the area to discover who was the cause of this incident. Night fell. While the investigation was underway, the truth made no efforts to hide and readily revealed itself to the Fire Nation officers searching for it. Hei Bai, in all its fury attacked all wandering search parties it could find. That same night, Han lost more than a hundred men. Then .... What followed were nights of nightmarish attacks. As the days before the winter solstice drew closer, the Fire Nation encampments in the surroundings received frequent attacks from the monstrous spirit creature over and over. Men were killed, supplies destroyed ..... Han remembered confronting it. "Slay this beast". He and his best benders had tried their hardest to slay the creature with fire. Result? They didn''t even burn a single hair off. For a creature of such size, it was fast. Too fast. Han remembered getting slammed into a tree with one swipe. Before losing consciousness, all he saw was the blurry silhouette of Hei Bai on a rampage. He woke up on a bed the following morning. He had been saved after the spirit creature left. Then he made a prompt decision. All soldiers would immediate evacuate the area. For ten miles around that bear statue in the burned forest, no Fire Nation officer was to step into that territory. Of course, they could do so at their own risk. Three days after the passing of the winter solstice, reports returned that the Hei Bai was nowhere to be seen. It seemed that with the solstice passing, the attacks of the Spirit creature had come to an end. However, the damage had been done. Han''s Forces suffered heavy losses at the hands of a spirit creature. A spirit creature! Till now, Han still didn''t remember how he wrote the details down in the report and sent it to the Fire Nation Capital. Hundreds of men, large amounts of supplies and machinery, all gone in the Hei Bai''s rage. They hadn''t even managed to slay the spirit. Worse still, Han had sent his soldiers out again to pick up the rebel''s trail. The result was obvious. Cold. The Captain was so angry that he burnt down large areas of vegetation, venting his frustration for hours with his Fire bending. The target was lost, the army was lost, the supplies and machinery dwindled, Han knew he was in a precarious situation. This whole thing would definitely be put down on his record. Forget about a promotion, it would be considered merciful if he wasn''t heavily punished. And that was if no one jumped up to add fuel to the fire. Failure in the Fire Nation had no tolerance policy. His enemies and competitors would definitely not miss the chance to step on him when he was down. For example .... Zhao. The last scroll from "Commander" Zhao came to mind. Internal struggles existed within the Fire Nation, different political factions in the military. The only reason he hadn''t been called upon yet was due to the fact that the war was nearing its completion. As a Captain, Han was privy to secret information. By the year''s end, the earth kingdom capital would be under Fire Nation control. This would mark the end of a century long battle and begin the time for tying up loose ends. His actions were one such loose end. And so, Han analyzed his current status in an attempt to figure a way out of this mess. Unless he made a major contribution before the war''s end, he would definitely receive punishment. One year wasn''t too long nor was it too short, but now, his options were limited. There was no way he could get involved in anything concerning the war from his current position. Even if by some miracle he was allowed, doing so could lead to more harm than good. Now, there was only one path that led to possible redemption. Which brings him to the point he currently is. Caw! The sound of a messenger hawk quickly drew the captain''s attention as a bird with red feathers flew towards he ship landing on the metal edge of the deck. ''.... Finally .....''. Han thought as he walked to the Messenger Hawk. He opened canister on its back and took the note within it. Reading the content, his face seemingly showed no expression but those who knew him would realize through his eyes that he was rather pleased. ''.... Old debts are quite useful. Colonel Shinu has my thanks ......''. The scroll in hand contained information from the Pohuai Stronghold. On it, recorded the Intel Han was looking for. The Location of someone who could hunt down and capture Luca no matter where he was hiding. Long flowing black hair, grey eyes, light skin. The scroll''s contents contained not just a picture of his target but a drawing of her pet mount too. A legendary a Subterranean beast that hunts by scent, capable of tracking its quarry across stone, water, dirt and thin air despite being hundreds of miles apart. The almost extinct Shirshu .... The scroll recorded her identity. Name: June Bounty Hunter ..... Skilled Fighter ...... Expert Tracker ..... Skilled strategist ..... Pet Shirshu: Nyla "Corporal Wei ...". "Um .... Yes Captain?" "How far away are we from the nearest port?" Chapter 32 Internal Destruction Southern Earth Kingdom¡­. Rumble! The Earth Kingdom soldiers sealed the entrance shut. ¡°It''s done sir¡±. ¡°Alright boys. That''s a wrap on this work¡±. The leader of the group uttered expressionlessly, his back facing the sealed entrance. ¡°They are Fire Nation prisoners now. So it''s time to transport the other refugees to .....¡±. Squelch! The sickening sound of flesh being pierced through rang out within the tunnel. Their leader had his eyes widen as did theirs at the sudden attack he had just experienced. His eyeballs shifted downwards to see a metal blade sticking out of his ches tot. Blood flowed from the area, quickly dying his clothes red. ¡°... How ¡­.¡±. The leader opened his mouth to speak. Only one word came out. In the place of the rest was blood. The blade was drawn out, and the Earth bending leader fell to the floor with the loss of support. ¡°Argh ¡­. Ugh¡±. Thud! The Earthbenders were stunned. They had just sealed the entrance. How the hell did this guy appear? The fall of their leader seemed to snap them out of their daze, and they moved to attack ¡­. The torches in their hands dropped to the floor as they raised their feet. ¡°Lesson one when fighting Earthbenders ¡­.¡±. Luca remembered his time at the Fire Nation military academy when the class instructor was giving a lesson. ¡°...... The less skilled ones always start their attack by slamming their feet on the ground, making rock projectiles emerge for their attacks¡±. The combat instructor uttered with a stern expression. Come to think of it, it was quite similar to his Math teacher back in grade school. ¡°There is always that split second delay before their feet touches the ground. A certain distance away, it''s difficult to take advantage of. Even if you were close enough, a regular fighter wouldn''t be able to take advantage¡±. At that moment, the instructor''s eyes narrowed like a hawk''s. ¡°Under my tutelage, bender or not, you will be the exception¡±. ¡ª A master bender wasn''t created solely by mastery of the elements. What made one worthy of the title master was their knowledge of application of said element in battle. It wasn''t all about how hot your flames were or how large the rock you could carry was. Sometimes, it was all about the little things. Movement patterns, momentary habits, distance measurement, anticipation ..... They didn''t need to showcase enough power to destroy mountains at times to defeat the enemy. Their rich combat instinct let them know what move to make and when exactly to make it. Just like Toph. Capable of defeating other Earth benders with more ease than one could think possible. In this scenario, a rightly timed fire blast to the legs was the best course of action. Destabilizing their movements, halting their attack, and throwing them off balance. The follow-up would be easy. Due to his lack of bending, Luca had been trained to use Long ranged weapons to achieve a similar effect. Darts, throwing knives ..... He was similar to Mai in this regard. Unfortunately, he didn''t have throwing weapons on him at the moment. Fortunately ¡­. he didn''t need them. Spirit Chi: - 10 - Dexterity: 9 (20) Squelch! The first one hadn''t even touched the floor when he felt a numbing sensation on his waist area. With the sword slicing through his lower body, Luca didn''t stop. He twisted the sword in the opposite direction and attacked the next one. Bam! The second slammed his foot against the floor, rocks slowly emerging from the floor under Luca''s gaze. ''Too slow ¡­''. He thought as he slashed the sword diagonally. Once again, the sickening sound of ripping flesh resounded as the Earthbender was slashed across the chest. Blood splattered across the wall as the body was pushed backwards, falling to the ground. ¡°Damnit!¡± Their rocks had barely flown upward, and two more had already been killed. What the hell? One of the remaining five screamed in shock at the scene that played out before him. It was all too fast. So fast that they couldn''t react to it. The five Earth benders were startled, quickly turning their attention and changing their center of gravity. At that moment, however, Luca had turned his gaze to the next closest victim. A speed of 20 points couldn''t be crudely described as double the speed of a regular male. Within short bursts, his acceleration, and reflexes could rival a cheetah''s. His sword struck out once again, blood stained with the intent to take another life. Only the two successive kills had brought the earthbenders some leeway to think. This soldier acted almost instinctively. Before Luca even raised his sword, he moved the rocks he had previously risen as an attack to defend his path while kicking off against the earth in a nasty retreat. A skilled and agile swordsman was best at close combat. If he were allowed to strike first, then the distance of a few meters was tantamount to giving his head away. The rocks would block the sword, bringing the swift attacks to a halt while giving him room to retreat and maximize his advantage as a bender. Or ..... At least that''s what he thought. Crack! All his eyes registered was a flash, the sound of breaking rocks and ..... Squelch! A stabbing pain in his chest. Like his previous comrades, the soldier had his eyes widen, clearly not reacting to what had just happened. Luca didn''t know the specific details. But for water to cut through stone and steel with a single strike, it needed an extremely high-pressure point. And if that logic were to follow in this world, it meant that benders like Katara could make a single water strike carry enough pressure equivalent to 90,000 psi. Making it capable of cutting stone and steel in one concentrated blast. If not, it meant that Chi had truly magnificent properties. Either way, if water could cut steel, then why couldn''t a chi infused sword strike cut through a hastily made rock defense? Answer. ¡­. It was as easy as cutting through butter. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Thud! The soldier fell to the ground with a sword embedded into his chest. Eyes wide open as blood began to pool out. Nevertheless, his sacrifice hadn''t gone in vain. Luca had struck this one, giving the others the time needed to effectively retreat as they stomped against her earth, propelling themselves backward as far as they could get. Landing on their feet, the four men fixed their gaze forward, eyes wide and sweat on their foreheads. ¡°...¡±. ¡°Ugh¡­ ¡­". The soldier who was stabbed through the heart twitched for a few moments before falling still. Thud! Thud! The clear footsteps resounded in the cave as Luca took two steps forward and drew his sword out. Squelch! It was that sound again. ¡°Four down ¡­.¡±. Luca said, stopping the use of Spirit Chi and sweeping his gaze over them. - Spirit Chi: -30 - ¡°..... And four more still alive¡±. All of them felt chilled. How many seconds has it been? Yet four of them had died. Even casualties against Fire benders had never occurred this fast. ¡°... Unfortunately. I only need one¡±. ¡°Kill him¡±. All four of them immediately attacked, a rumble expanding from their feet towards their target. Reaching a certain distance, four earth spikes shot out from the ground. Seeing this, Luca immediately raised his sword and struck. A crescent line of ivory white chi energy emerged from his blade as he slashed at the incoming attack. ''¡­ What is that?'' Bam! Bam! Bam! ¡°Rargh." A large rock rose into the air and shot forward. Slicing the last spike in half, he leaned his body to the side, dodging by a hairs'' breadth before infusing more chi into his sword. With a spin and a swerve, the blade drew another crescent line of energy shooting right towards the four opponents. In a battle, there was barely anytime to react to an attack yourself, much less warn others. The ivory chi slash had been displayed once and directly destroyed their earth attacks. Seeing him swing his sword towards them, some reacted later than others. Three chose to dodge. The last one picked differently. Raising an earth wall to shield himself, one properly reinforced, unlike his previous companion''s hasty defense. Crack! The same sound, the same effect. The energy slash went right through the reinforced wall of earth, dissipating some of its energy but continuing movement nonetheless. It hit directly across his chest, going several Inches deep and taking him off the ground. ¡°Arghhhhh!¡± The man was sent flying and screaming. ¡°Dodge, don''t defend¡±. One yelled out loud as yet another sword slash rushed in there direction. The remaining three hastily moved out of the way, not daring to try their luck. Lest they get mutilated. ¡°Hold him still!¡± The same man yelled again as he stood a bit further back. The other two regrouped together in front of him, channelling all their chi and slamming their hands against the floor. Under Luca''s gaze, the earth starting from their position turned into quicksand and rushed in his direction. Without moving, Luca watched as the attack enveloped the earth beneath his feet, turning it from solid stone to squishy soil. ''They can do this?'' Looking back, he saw the four corpses he had killed enveloped into the quicksand. Then he turned to face them again and realized that performing such an operation had most likely drained them for every ounce of energy they could muster. However, that was enough. The one behind immediately raised his hands upward and the ceiling began to rumble. ¡°Rarghh!¡± With a strained roar, he pulled down, causing the earth on the ceiling to collapse inwards. Earth poured, engulfing Luca completely. Silence returned to the tunnel with the exception of slightly rumbling stone. ¡°Ha ..... Ha ¡­. Ha .". The tunnel was now dimly lit with nothing but a single torch. The others were buried on the other side. The three soldiers stood in place at alert. Watching the area where the rockfall covered up. The seconds elapsed. Eventually ..... ¡°We ..... We got him¡±. A soldier exclaimed with bated breaths. His chest heaving up and down constantly as sweat trickled down his neck. He wasn''t the only one. The three of them were in similar condition. Tired and their chi almost exhausted. ¡°We did. I don''t know who this guy is. But unless he''s an earthbender, no one can survive that¡±. ¡°Who. ¡­. Who is he anyway¡±. The question stunned the other two. They didn''t pay much attention to the refugees, hence Luca''s face was unfamiliar to them. ¡°..... I have no idea .....¡±. Swoosh! Squelch! It happened then. From out of nowhere, a longsword emerged from the rock wall like a ghost, shooting through the air and impaled the speaking earthbender right through the face. Thud! The impaled soldier made a forceful thud, his body already a corpse before he hit the floor. The sudden turn of events stunned the other two as they turned their gazes to see what happened. Then ..... Their pupils constricted to the point of needles. Fear gripped their souls at the sight of the body with a sword straight into the skull. ¡°.... I have to admit. You guys are good¡±. A young male voice resounded from the rockfall, causing their constricted pupils to widen in disbelief. As if both sides were in two different dimensions, a hand stretched out from the rubble, followed by the rest of the arm, body, and face ..... Under their terrified gaze, Luca stepped right out of the rubble. His clothes not looking one but like he had just been buried under a rockfall. The bag on his back remaining the same way he always carried it. Simply because he wasn''t. ¡°Ha ¡­. Ha ¡­". Similar to them, his chest heaved up and down but not as violently as theirs. ''You truly can''t underestimate anyone''. - Chi: 844/1385- - Fatigue: 34/100 - - Spirit Chi: 964 - Fighting in an underground tunnel was basically the territory of earthbenders. If his opponents were more skilled, then perhaps this battle would have been more difficult. ¡°You ¡­.¡±. The scene of Luca stepping through solid objects as if they didn''t exist magnified the fear in their hearts to the extreme. After all, people were most afraid of the unknown. Coupled with his previous display and the fact that spirits actually existed in this world, his actions immediately caused them to start panicking. ¡°... Who ¡­ What are you?¡± ¡°.... You don''t remember¡±. Luca raised an eyebrow. ¡°Well let me remind you. I am a refugee¡±. ¡°Impossible..... Refugees can''t do ¡­. that¡±. Luca raised an eyebrow. ¡°I can¡±. ¡°But enough about me. Because now, there are two of you. But like I said before, I only need one. So .....¡±. His words fell, and wisps of white chi emerged on his palm. Seeing this, both men''s expressions changed drastically. One attempted to raise an attack subconsciously. ''It''s you then''. Unfortunately, Luca was one step faster. The soldier had barely begun his attempt to earthbend when Luca caught his outstretched fist in a tight clamp. However, contrary to his usual actions of absorbing chi, this time, he did the exact opposite. ¡°You ¡­.¡±. The soldier opened his mouth, but ..... ¡°Ugh!¡± It happened then. A large amount of foreign energy rushed through his skin into his Chi pathways and began rampaging violently. ¡°Arghhhhh!¡± - Chi: -50 - With sufficient reserves left, Luca injected a large amount of energy into the body of the soldier and let go of his hand right after. This was an experiment. He wanted to see what would happen if he transferred his Chi into another living human and let it roam around unchecked. Under his curious gaze, the soldier backed up several steps, eyes closed while clutching his arm. The next second, the results displayed themselves. The skin around the soldier''s dark arm began to crack. Following which, blood flowed profusely from those cracks. But that wasn''t the ending. ¡°Arghh!¡± Although he couldn''t see it, cracks began to appear on other areas of the Earthbender''s body underneath his clothes. Luca could tell simply because his uniform was soon soaked red with blood. The foreign chi spread wantonly like a virus on a rampage, coursing through the chi pathways and destroying everything it could find in its wake. Unbearable screams of agony resounded in the tunnel as the soldier was tortured without a single weapon being placed on his skin. Seconds passed, blood flowed from his nose, ears, mouth and eyes, all until..... Squelch. The sound of something being ruptured could be heard as the man''s screams ended abruptly. Following which, his body fell backwards, eventually marking the beginning of his existence as a corpse. ''Well ...... Perhaps ..... a bit too much''. Luca frowned at the scene before him. It seemed that fifty points of Chi was an overkill. That aside, he turned his gaze to the only other person left alive. Presently, his complexion was deathly pale and his body was trembling slightly. Luca couldn''t tell if it was due to fear or Chi exhaustion. ¡°Alright ..... Now that everyone else is taken care of¡­.¡±. Once again, wisps of white energy flooded his palm. The earthbender''s face, if possible, grew paler. ¡°..... Let''s have a nice friendly discussion. Shall we?¡± Chapter 33 June, The Deal Northwestern Earth Kingdom ¡­ Blackwater Port ..... A large mass of armored steel trudged into port from the Mo Ce Waters, sporting the Fire Nation''s red fire flag. Despite this port not being officially controlled by the Fire Nation, the Vessel''s appearance was met with rapt attention as these parts of the colonial lands were under the supervision of the Pohuai Stronghold a few hundred miles away. Blackwater Port wasn''t a place of strategic significance. Hence, the Fire Nation had shown little interest and placed minimal effort in ensuring its security. As a result, it had quickly grown from a small abandoned port of an Earth kingdom village to a small bustling pier frequented by people from all over the world. Earth kingdom, Fire Nation, Water tribe ..... Mercenaries, pirates, soldiers, defectors, thugs, thieves ...... It was a small hotspot for a booming economy of shady activities. As for why the word small was consistently used ¡­. That was because the neighboring black market port, known as Seedy Pier was many times larger in size and influence. It was also a location Aang and the Gang had visited in the original series, hence a named location in Avatar. Blackwater Port, however, didn''t have such privilege. The cruiser made a stop alongside the worn wooden dock, the massive ship particularly eye-catching when placed alongside smaller, wooden counterparts. Following which, the frontal part of the ship disengaged to fall on the nearby sandy shore. Bang! The smoke rising from the exhaust on the ship''s mast slowly faded overtime as the engines were brought to a stop. But not before several passengers disembarked. Coming down from the ship''s stairway, Han faced his gaze into the distance. Seeing and feeling a large number of gazes converging on him, he let out a soft snort in displeasure as he disembarked from his cruiser. The Fire Nation had never bothered to clear up this area and just like the Seedy Merchant Pier, actively allowed it to develop. Nevertheless, that didn''t mean that their presence was wholly welcome. The appearance of Fire Nation soldiers caused the majority of the traders here to scurry away as fast as their legs could carry them. The man walking down was definitely a ranking officer in the Fire Army or Navy, and most of these people here were criminals, mercenaries, and fugitives in disguise. For people like them, the Fire Nation usually spelled bad news No one wanted to risk the chance of getting arrested or killed in case these new arrivals were on the hunt for someone. ¡°.... Hmph! As it should be¡±. Their reactions elicited a snort of disdain from the captain. Honestly, if not for the importance of his Mission, Han really wouldn''t want to set foot in this place. However, his future neck was on the line, so this had to be done. Han and his men walked through without causing too much of a stir. Seeing that the Fire Nation were passing by without putting up an aggressive appearance, many secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Order quickly returned and trading soon resumed as usual after their passing. Han didn''t care. The chances of him catching anyone of true value amidst this group of people were slimmer than the Avatar flying over their heads. Time was precious. He certainly wouldn''t waste it on useless endeavors. In the past few years, word had spread around about a bounty hunter with exceptional ability. June ...... A skilled fighter and strategist with a nearly perfect track record of completing any job she took on. At first, it was just a rumor and many found it hard to believe that a woman could be so formidable. Soon however, what was initially a rumor turned out to be true upon discovering that she possessed a living Shirshu. Also hailed as the greatest tracking animals in the world. With this, the earth kingdom mercenary quickly made a name for herself, becoming famous. Her whereabouts weren''t always guaranteed as she was known to work alone, travel alone and operate on the sly. Little information available about her past minus the already known. Taking high stake missions for high prices, with no affiliation or loyalty to any nation, always working for the highest bidder. Making sure to deliver as promised. Han remembered that there was a time when the Fire Nation sought her out to include her into their ranks. After all, such skill and ability were highly valued in any nation, minus the extinct Air Nomads, of course. The result was as expected. She declined. Proving true to the information that she joined no organization and world solely for gold. A Mercenary through and through. With her obstinate nature, the Fire Nation had left her alone. Not because they wanted to but simply due to the fact that such actions would be counterproductive and an ultimate waste of time. Apart from being a great hunter herself, a large part of June''s reputation could be credited on her blind pet. Taking action against her wasn''t hard, but adult Shirshu''s weren''t easy to subdue. Especially ones that had already formed a bond. Such animals had enough intelligence to distinguish situations. Hence, they couldn''t and wouldn''t submit to those who forcefully took them captive, preferring to die in their stubbornness. Coupled with the fact that June wasn''t easy to capture and her identity as a bounty hunter with no affiliation, capturing her for her Shirshu would cause other mercenaries to be wary of the Fire Nation. The Fire Nation wasn''t omnipotent. They many times hired such bounty hunters and outlaws to perform certain tasks for them. Taking such actions would hurt their credibility, and who would dare to accept commissions from them in the future? That was one thing. If the bounty hunters were pushed to the earth kingdom, that would be a real loss. After all, people in the business had a wide range of contacts. Ultimately, June had been hired by the Fire Nation on multiple occasions as both sides maintained proper business relationships. Her file was clearly recorded alongside her dealings with the Fire Nation. After all, there had been many deserters over the years during the war. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Without special assistance, the Fire Nation couldn''t possibly catch all of them. That was correct. June and her Shirshu were largely responsible for the fact that the number of Fire Nation defectors still alive countable hadn''t exceeded one hand. And soon, Han expected to prune that number to be one less. The moved deeper into the mainland, bypassing villages and settlements until they came to a large worn down building on the far end of a small village. Several hours had passed since they began. If the Intel from the Pohuai Stronghold was correct, this was where their target was staying. She was last spotted at a bar hotel far off on the other side of the village. The Fire Nation unit consisting of six men left their Komodo Rhino''s behind and appeared at her doorstep. With a look from his captain, Corporal Wei moved forward and knocked twice on the door. Creak! The door creaked open, the dim light within spilling out as a slender figure appeared in their sights. ¡°Well well, what do we have here ......¡±. The dark-haired female with black eyeshadow, black lipstick and black clothing looking like the textbook example of a goth girl uttered from the entrance. ¡°June ¡­". The Captain called out with a solemn expression. His gaze inadvertently peering into the building, only to see what he could only describe as a furry anteater animal that as much too large for its kind laying on the floor and staring straight at him as if its eyes were actually working. ''Shirshu ¡­.''. ¡°Looky here Nyla. Unexpected Visitors¡±. A small smile made its way up her lips as she leaned on the side of the door and pulled her hair back. "You know, when I discovered two rats trying to tail me, I thought one of two things. Either someone had put a bounty on my head or the Fire Nation had shown up. After knocking one out and questioning the other, I had my answer". Compared to her, the informants sent by Colonel Shinu had too poor stealth and anti-tracking capabilities. Luckily, they weren''t trying to apprehend the target at all. If not, they would be dead by now. June wasn''t surprised by this. If they didn''t outright appear in uniform like Captain short and fatty over here, the Fire Nation usually contacted her in similar ways over the years. ¡°Mr?¡± ¡°That''s Captain to you¡±. Han corrected in a dignified voice. ¡°Alright, Captain Shortie. What can I do for you?¡± ¡°You ¡­.¡±. Being addressed in such a way, Han flushed with anger. ¡°It''s Han¡±. Reigning himself, he uttered through gritted teeth. Releasing his clenched fists and placing them behind his back in an unfazed posture. ¡°.... Captain Han¡±. ¡°... Sure, whatever you say¡±. Her bland tone only served to annoy him further. Did this woman have no respect for high-ranking Fire Nation officers? This was the first time in a long time he was ever spoken to in such a way. From someone who wasn''t his direct superior. ¡°I would advise you to watch your tone woman¡±. He warned, trying to place his image higher. Only ¡­. ¡°Oh please, don''t flatter yourself¡±. In response to his words, June''s tone was as bland as ever, almost bordering on sarcasm. June and Han had never worked together before. It was their first meeting. Hence Han wouldn''t tolerate June''s nonchalance and she wouldn''t tolerate his arrogance. ¡°You aren''t the first arrogant assed officer I''ve come across. I''ve hunted criminals for Fire Nation Colonels and Commanders. Even they didn''t have their noses as high as you right now¡±. This was the plain truth. Despite not being Fire Nation, her skill had earned her quite a reputation. Colonel Mongke and the Rough Rhinos were her acquaintances. How could she tolerate a measly Captain trying to assert dominance on her head? ¡°Just tell me whether you have a deal for me or not. I''m not into mind and momentum tactics in the least¡±. Han frowned. His eyes narrowing into a strong glare. Thud! Thud! Thud! At that moment, the large body of the Shirshu emerged from behind her with loud steps, standing behind its owner and looking down on the unit with even stronger momentum. It''s stance threatening to lash its poisonous tongue out to attack least they make any sudden movements. The Venom of a Shirshu was known to cause instant paralysis. Whatever burning fury Han felt a moment ago rapidly cooled down at the development. Although angry, he still backed down his offensive stance, his face returning to indifference. ''Her character is just as stated in the reports''. ¡°I want you to find someone¡±. ¡°Who? Another Noble?¡± ¡°A rebel?¡± ¡°Another one?¡± June raised an eyebrow in intrigue. the Fire Nation easily handled regular rebels. Only those who successfully got too far away where would need her expertise. ¡°Got a picture?¡± Han didn''t utter any nonsense. Unfurling the scroll in his possession. ¡°Oh! A pretty boy?¡± The image immediately caught her attention. ¡°Looks young. Different from the middle-aged ones I''m usually sent after¡±. ¡°My men lost track of him down southeast. Hundreds of miles away from here¡±. ¡°That''s pretty far¡±. Taking her gaze away, she turned back. ¡°Still, a picture isn''t enough. Nyla can''t track a target without a scent to go on¡±. ¡°Worry not¡±. Expecting this, the Captain raised his hand in a gesture. From behind, a soldier emerged with a box in hand. Opening it, what laid within was an arrow. ¡°From our investigation, this was the last thing we could determine he touched¡±. Han uttered with a gleam in his eyes. This was one of the arrows Luca had used to kill several fire nation soldiers back at the area near the scarred forest. The blood on the arrow tip had been carefully cleaned off with a clean rag, making sure that no other area was touched. From this, it could be seen that Han had come prepared. June on the other hand, raised an eyebrow at the sight before her. ¡°An arrow?¡± This was a rare sight. ¡°I take it he''s done a number on you, hasn''t he?¡± ¡°He''s skilled¡±. Han uttered indifferently. ¡°Ex-Captain. Took down more than two dozen of my men alone, no bending¡±. ¡°Interesting. It says so in his report¡±. June replied. ¡°Find him. Apart from the bounty reward, I''ll personally throw in two hundred gold coins¡±. The bland expression on her face finally received a substantial change. ¡°My My, you sure are generous¡±. ¡°Stop wasting time. What''s your answer¡±. ¡°..... Alright. I''ll take the job¡±. Saying this, she reached out and grabbed the arrow. Han did nothing to stop her. ¡°But I work alone. You and your men stay here while I capture the target¡±. Once again, Han frowned but ultimately said nothing. He knew June''s skills. They were worth this concession. Besides, it''s not like their Komodo Rhinos could keep up. It would take several days at a Shirshu''s top speed to transverse such a large amount of land. They could only catch up on a cruiser. So he raised no objection. However, there was one thing he was still worried about. ¡°Fine. But can your ..... Mount truly track him over such a long distance? Do know he''s hundreds of miles away¡±. The arrow was placed under Nyla''s nose as the Shirshu took several sniffs. Meanwhile, June climbed onto its back, her lips curling into a smirk. ¡°My Shirshu can smell a rat on the other side of the continent¡±. Those were her last words as she flicked her whip. ¡°Hyah!¡± The Shirshu let out a small roar before rushing off into the distance. ¡°Sir! What do we do now?¡± Corporal Wei asked. ¡°Back to the ship¡±. Han uttered with cold eyes. ¡°Follow her trail¡±. ¡°But sir. June''s loyalty is ..... Questionable¡±. ¡°That is not your place to concern yourself corporal¡±. ¡°I ¡­ Um ¡­. Yes sir¡±. Wei bowed quickly. Han took a look, his face shifting, visibly annoyed as he turned back to his mount. The hunting cat had been released. Now, all he had to do, was wait and follow. Chapter 34 Collaborators Hi Guys. It''s been Five days since my last release, so here''s Four New Chapter releases. Of course, it might take another five to ten days before I come back to update. Hope you are enjoying it so far. I love Avatar and so read a lot of fics on it. Unfortunately I found very few Last Airbender Fanfics that had actually entertaining action content and weren''t just about romance, redemptions and alternative pairings. I also found too Few insert fics. Or I did but they were mostly carry along novels that just added a character to the Avatar series and added nothing original. I didn''t want to simply reread Avatar with an extra from the beginning again so I decided to write my own. I tried as much as possible to make this better than my last Fanfic. So we''re 30+ chapters in. Let me know how exactly you find the story so far. If you enjoy it, consider leaving a positive review at the end. If not ... Well, you probably won''t still be reading this far if you don''t like it. But just in case you are, please review fairly and not with objectional bias please. Polite Constructive criticism is accepted. Feel free to ask me anything you might be confused about. Anyway, enough blabbering. To the Chapter 34 I promised you all. Enjoy. ...... Southern Earth Kingdom. Underground Tunnel ..... Thud! Thud! Thud! In the man made underground cave, the sound of soft footsteps resounded, followed by the darkness giving way to the light emitted from a dim torch. Thud! A boot appeared in the light as a young man wearing green clothes with a bag on his back held the burning torch in his hand. His face sported an expression of one in deep thought as he walked unhurriedly to the end of the tunnel. ''¡­ I should have known ¡­.''. His eyebrows furrowed as his expression remained contemplative. Thud! Thud! ''¡­ After all. I completed several past missions relying on this kind of people''. Thud! Thud! Footprints could be seen behind him in the dim light. Before ultimately disappearing into the darkness as he walked further away. ''Back then, Infiltrations had never been easier''. Thud! ''And today ...... The whole thing smelt fishy from the start¡­.''. ''¡­ I knew something was wrong. I just didn''t think fire nation tactics would have advanced this far up in the short span of a year''. Luca''s eyes narrowed. ''¡­ Well, they found better ways to make use of collaborators''. Back in the Fire Nation Intelligence and assassination division, Luca had been tasked with various missions. Some included breaking into earth kingdom territory and gathering Intel on enemy movements. Their distribution of forces, stationed troops, attacking and defensive intentions¡­. He was a spy, and a good one at that. But infiltrating enemy ranks was never an easy task. Especially for someone of his age. A fifteen-year-old gathering sensitive intel wasn''t easy. Especially when the earth Kingdom army was under strict supervision. Their ability to keep information limited to the high-ranking members was as strong as the very earth they bent. That was where the necessary help came into play. Collaborators. Earth kingdom Collaborators to be specific. Earth kingdom soldiers or militants who voluntarily or involuntarily supported the Fire Nation during the hundred-year war. The Fire Nation who were winning the war had defectors. It was only normal for the losing Earth Kingdom to have similar people among their ranks. Especially those whose military unit had been either abandoned or sacrificed. Those willing had become official workers of the Fire Nation, aiding their advance to finally win against the people who betrayed their trust. Most of them were reinstated back into enemy lines under the guise of soldiers who managed to escape and placed as loopholes to be used when needed. Luca had gone behind before, precisely due to the help of these people. Enabling him to steal important information to aid in the Fire Nation''s advance. After defeating the Earth benders and extracting all useful information he could from the last one left alive, Luca had already determined that Captain Li Shan and his men were undoubtedly such. Earth kingdom Collaborators. Of course, people like him were previously used as pieces to create loopholes within Earth kingdom ranks, Fire Nation battle manpower and at times, fodder group. But from what he just learned, Luca could see that the Fire Nation had upped their game. The soldier didn''t know much, but after spitting out everything he did know, Luca determined that this stronghold had fallen a long time ago. This was why the Fire Nation hadn''t already marched to destroy the base with siege weapons. What now remained was a front to deceive both the actual Earth kingdom forces of Omashu and the large number of refugees that made their way here every day. Their purpose? Exactly what had happened earlier. Labor. Skilled labor to be exact. After food, weapons, and supplies, the most sought after resource during the hundred-year war was skilled manpower. After all, the Fire Nation was lacking in numbers when compared to the Earth kingdom. Many times, they were outnumbered five to one on the battlefield, and this was still under the circumstances that the Earth kingdom hadn''t implemented forced conscription of regular people and refugees. Earth Kingdom villages could and would quickly provide any soldier regiments they encountered with whatever help they needed. In the earth kingdom army, there was no shortage of blacksmiths to help forge weapons, herbalists to help patch up the wounded, miners, engineers ..... In this regard, the earth kingdom surpassed the Fire Nation by far. Without the need to distribute additional troops to handle these areas, they could fight against their invaders with free hands.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Until finally, the Fire Nation decided they had had enough. Haican Stronghold was still standing for two reasons. One, to transfer all skilled workers among the refugees away from the Earth kingdom straight to Fire Nation possession. Just like the prisoners on the Mo Ce Sea Prison Rig, these refugees captured would be forced to use their skills to the service of their invaders. All Engineers would be transported to work on the Navy cruisers. Miners would be forced to slave away in the coal mines, herbalists would create healing medicines without end for their wounded, but the worst of all was saved for the warriors with combat experience. These unlucky men and women would be imprisoned and later on forced to wear Fire Nation uniforms to act as unarmed diversion in combat. The prisoners would surely die, but the fire nation would succeed in tricking the army of the earth kingdom while losing zero troops in the process. Double win. This was why there had been a roll call for specific occupations. This was why they were told to leave their families behind without exception. They were being hauled off to their captors without their knowledge. But that was only the first reason. Reason two was even better. As at this point, only two great cities stood strong under the Fire Nation''s offense in the earth kingdom. Omashu, and Ba Sing Se. Why were they gathering so many refugees at Haican? Simple. To transport them to Omashu. That''s right, the talk of taking refugees to the great city wasn''t false. But here lay the problem. As far as Luca could tell, the Fire Nation had been cutting off all trade routes that led to Omashu for months now. Without the trade routes, nothing could get in or out of Omashu without first passing through the Fire Nation. This meant ...... ¡°Raze the surrounding villages and drive all their unskilled labor as refugees towards the target city. Cramped and homeless, they''ll sow panic and despair among the local populace about the upcoming invasion and the horrors they had experienced while eating through the city''s limited food supply without being able to meaningfully contribute back¡±. ¡°By transporting so many refugees to Omashu, there would be too many mouths to feed and not enough to go around. That''s where everything falls into place. The trade routes locked meant no food could be transported to Omashu from allies. Once the city''s food supply runs out, it was only a matter of time before they began to tear themselves apart. Ultimately, how long they could last would be the deciding factor. Depending on how much food they currently have in store, in due time, Omashu would be forced to surrender or face death by starvation. Add a timely siege at the right moment, King Bumi will surrender without putting up a fight¡±. Saying all this, Luca felt ...... Impressed. The action of helping refugees wasn''t helping at all. It was literally pushing Omashu to the brink of destruction. They left all the useful people for themselves and drove the useless ones to further burden their enemies. And worst of all, this wasn''t the first time this had happened. This had probably been happening for at least a few months. ''¡­. Omashu stands no chance ¡­''. This was a fact. It would fall sooner or later. As for all those refugees left behind ....... They were fire nation property now. The end of that tunnel truly led to a bay with transport ships on the water. But those ships belonged to Fire Nation, and there wasn''t just one of them. There wasn''t a specific amount given, but with his familiarity with Fire Nation cruisers, Luca could estimate the number he would be facing if he decided to go back in the way of the refugees. Four Fire Navy cruisers, Hundreds of Soldiers, a minimum of a tenth of that number would be Firebenders..... Although he had gained some strength recently, Luca didn''t think he stood a chance against such a large number if he was discovered. Even if he wasn''t, that direction wouldn''t lead him to anywhere safe. Assuming he remained undiscovered and snuck aboard a departing vessel, he had no idea where the transport ship was heading to. Perhaps the Omashu Battleground. Perhaps the Fire Islands ¡­. Perhaps outposts back West. Or perhaps going north, it didn''t matter where. There was no ship going to the Si Wong desert anyway. The only thing he could do in that direction was to save the refugees. Thud! Thud! Thud! It was a long walk to get to one end, and similarly, a long walk to get back to the other side. Once lit, a torch wouldn''t last forever. Thankfully, it didn''t need to. Luca''s footsteps came to a halt as he appeared at the very beginning of the tunnel. Up ahead was the stairway that led down from the way the soldiers brought them. Currently, he was right under the Haican Stronghold. Seeing the staircase, Luca bent down and rested on one knee while placing the torch aside. Following which, he took off the bag on his back and opened it. A wide array of plants and herbs appeared in sight as the scent of plants flowed into his nostrils. ¡°Sigh ..... I really wish I had that storage space¡±. During his journey before Haican, Luca had stored a variety of poisonous plants in his bag. Due to limited conditions, space and a not knowing how long he would be out in the wilderness, Luca had been particularly selective. The main criteria for selection were the deterioration rate. In other words, every plant in this backpack could last for a minimal timeframe of a week before losing its poisonous properties after being uprooted while the more potent ones could last two to three weeks. It had been four days now since the earliest one he picked. Without a proper place to store these herbs, they would wither away eventually. With this thought appearing, a frown made its way to his face before disappearing. Nevertheless, he couldn''t be bothered about that at the moment. Because he didn''t open the bag due for that reason. The travelling bag procured from the Warden at the Mo Ce Sea Prison Rig had three separate compartments. One was used to store the plants, the other stored his dry rations. As for the third ...... He reached into the third area and pulled out two finely crafted weapons. Ones he was much more familiar with their usage ever since he joined the assassination department. Daggers. Or Poison Knives to be more precise. Sharp weapons with slight spikes on the handles that allow for better grip and included a concealed compartment with a vial of poison in the handle. The vial contained a concocted paralysis poison, paralyzing those who received a single scratch in a matter of seconds. He twirled the weapons around his palms for a few seconds, familiarizing himself with the twin blades before gripping them tightly. A cold gleam flashing across his eyes as he looked at the stairway leading to the surface. According to the soldier, the Earthbenders had created two passageways. One led to the Fire Nation bay where valuable prisoners would be transported to, and the other was the actual passageway that led to Omashu. However, this passage only had two symbolic guards with spear weapons at the entrance. The other one, however, was heavily guarded by close to a half a dozen earthbenders and several skilled non-bending soldiers both in this stronghold and the exit on the other end. Even if he wanted to utilize the tunnel route, it was impossible to do so without alarming the entire base. As for waiting for the batch of refugees heading to Omashu? That was even more impossible. The next batch of refugees would only be transported when the soldiers leading his batch returned to the stronghold. Soldiers he had personally killed himself. That complicated the situation. When the soldiers didn''t return, it would arouse suspicion and people would be sent to investigate. Once it was discovered that they were dead, the stronghold would be put on lockdown and the refugees within would definitely be questioned. If he were discovered, Luca would be swarmed to death. In that case, it would be best not to be here when that happened, hence leaving only one option. Leaving before anyone realized something was up. This was why he had taken out the dual knives. Because his next course of actions needed him to operate as silently as possible. For such actions, longswords simply weren''t suitable. The land around Haican was barren, as the Earthbenders had cleared it of all vegetation in the beginning to avoid sneak attacks through the trees from fire nation. Apart from the area that the refugees outside occupied, the others were clear. Luca needed to escape this underground tunnel, avoid all patrolling guards and get to the eastern wall as fast as possible. Subsequently, he needed to phase through it and rush into the forest several hundred feet away before he was spotted by the sentries. ''Easy enough .....''. He thought to himself as he reorganized his belongings. It was dangerous, but when had his past infiltrations and escapes ever been free of risk? Compared to past times, the fact that he wasn''t exposed now made his plan easier. The bag on his back was once again slung over his shoulder and the sword repositioned from his back waist to back shoulder. ''Alright ¡­. Let''s get out of .....''. Rumble. At that moment, a rumbling sound emerged from above causing Luca to raise his head and narrow his eyebrows. He knew what that sound meant. The entrance had been opened and someone was coming down the tunnel. ¡°Great ¡­ Now what?¡± Luca muttered under his breath while picking the torch from the ground. Swoosh! With a light blow, the already dim light went out completely as the underground area fell into utter darkness. Chapter 35 The Former Kyoshi Warrior Merry Christmas Everyone ..... Southern Earth Kingdom The moonlight cast an eerie glow over Haican Stronghold. The once quaint town had taken a quite unfamiliar shape, turning into a formidable fortress ever since the Earthbenders took over. All previous civilians had been evacuated, their small homes destroyed to make way for larger structures and walls. With the reconstruction, different structures had been set up with different levels of importance. The Infirmary near the east wall, the refugee sleeping quarters near the West Wall. The North and South walls had multiple garrisons with soldiers patrolling the ground floors, stairs, walls and occasionally inspecting the sewer system. Other important areas like the mess hall for the soldiers, the supply station, and the armory were stationed close to the central tower. Also known as the command center, meeting hall and residence of Captain Li Shan and his higher ranking officers. These mentioned places were the areas where soldiers patrolled regularly at all times. The tunnel for transportation of valuable refugees, however, didn''t have such a luxury. Compared to the main transportation channel that was stationed near the central tower, the one leading to the bay controlled by the Fire Nation had less security measures. This was proven by how only two soldiers were stationed in the large, secluded area to act as guards. In the entire stronghold, it was considered the easiest, and most boring work station to be assigned to, with soldiers on guard duty caught napping on their shift periods. The same scene replayed at the moment. As outside the sealed underground tunnel, two guards could be seen standing on watch duty. Two guards could be seen standing in the middle of the empty space. They stood several feet away from each other, both holding long spears and standing at attention. The previous shift of soldiers had just finished a few minutes ago, making it their turn to guard the tunnel entrance. Not like it was really needed, though. After all, nothing had ever happened in this area. In their expectations, this was going to be a very long four-hour shift. ¡°¡­. Help ¡­.¡± That stillness, however, was broken by a sudden cry for help. From the entrance, the appearance of a disheveled young woman, with messily cut hair and a frantic expression, caught their attention. ¡°Hey!¡± One called, alerting the young woman, who froze in her tracks. ¡°What are you still doing outside at these hours?¡± Both soldiers moved forward, the one on the left asking with a stern expression. ¡°All registered refugees should be in their quarters. No exceptions¡±. ¡°I ¡­.¡± The young woman shuddered slightly under their gaze. Her amber colored eyes carried a touch of fear and panic, all of which was displayed under the soldier''s eyes. With light skin and short brown hair, she was young. Perhaps fifteen or sixteen years old. Nevertheless, no matter how fidgety she looked, he wasn''t having it. ¡°I repeat¡­.¡± He uttered, his eyes narrowing. ¡°Who are you, and what are you doing out here?¡± ¡°I ¡­. My name is Meilin. I''m look¡­. looking for my brother ¡­.¡± She uttered, her voice trembling as she moved closer to a few water barrels behind her. ¡°He ¡­. He told me he was going to the restroom. It''s been an hour, and he hasn''t returned yet. I set out to look for him¡±. The two guards exchanged looks, skeptical about her story. The refugees quarters were a long-distance away from here. Forget about the possibility of her wandering in this direction, she should have been stopped by the other patrolling soldiers and told to return. And yet ¡­. Here she was. Thinking of this, the guard''s eyes turned cold. ¡°I''m sorry, miss, but this is a restricted area. No one without proper clearance should be here, especially snooping refugee kids¡±. The guard had already determined her story to be a lie. The conflicting factors were too much. Obviously, he regarded her as another curious peasant who couldn''t sit still after getting something to eat. It wasn''t the first time this had happened. But those who went snooping around and discovered things they weren''t supposed to usually had terrible endings. ¡°¡­. You have to come with us, miss. We''ll verify your story and decide what to ¡­.¡± He stretched out his hand as he spoke, aiming to grab her. It happened then. The moment the soldier stretched out his hand, the girl made a ducking motion and fell to the floor instantly. The soldier was stunned. However, the next turn of events left him even more bewildered. The water in the water barrels behind her suddenly flowed upward and rushed towards the guards, enveloping them before they could react. ''Waterbending?'' Caught off guard, they opened their mouths to scream and alert others. Crack! Unfortunately, they were still a step slower. The water enveloping their bodies quickly solidified into thick ice, trapping both men inside. The guards literally froze in place, their faces portraying their confusion. Meilin who was previously trembling suddenly stood up. Her previous vulnerable look gone with the wind as she examined the new ice sculptures. ¡°All clear¡±. As she did, several figures quickly emerged from the shadows. ¡°Nice work Dandan". Meilin uttered towards the slightly thin male on the side. Each figure wore black hooded cloaks. ¡°Alright guys ¡­. We need to do this before we''re discovered. And fast¡±. A soft, female voice came from the cloaked figure in the middle of the group. They all nodded, no one uttering another word as they moved into action. The icy coldness emitted from the frozen soldiers faded as they moved further away. Several barrels were pushed over close to the tunnel entrance. ¡°Peng, you''re up¡±. ¡°Right¡±. Another male moved closer to the entrance. Taking a stance, he slammed his feet on the ground and thrust his arms forward. Rumble! The top of the earth was removed, revealing a tunnel underneath it. ¡°¡­. So it really is true¡±. ¡°Yeah, it is¡±. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°I heard rumors that many refugees were placed into combat while wearing fire nation uniforms. I thought the fire nation had captured them after raiding their villages. I just never expected ¡­.¡± The atmosphere quickly turned depressing as they all looked at the tunnel below. ¡°Damn Fire nation¡±. Dandan cursed at that moment. ¡°Guys ¡­ Focus¡±. Their leader voiced out again. ¡°We can''t get distracted here. Time is against us on this. You know what happens if we''re discovered¡±. She uttered before moving towards the barrel. ¡°Fenfang, get the lanterns¡±. Then, she carried a barrel down the stairs. Seeing this, the others carried their barrels and followed. With a lit lantern, Fenfang stood at the entrance a few seconds longer than the others. Looking back, her eyes flashing with panic and guilt before ultimately walking into the tunnel with them. The darkness was driven away by the light from the lanterns. The smell of damp earth flowed into their nostrils, making most of them crinkle their noses slightly. ¡°Here, there ¡­ Down over there ¡­.¡±. In the tunnel, Meilin began giving instructions on where to place each barrel. They walked several dozen feet into the tunnel, placed them anywhere she asked. ¡° ..... And here .....". The last one was placed there by Peng. The barrels were spread out a good distance away from each other within the tunnel. ¡°Are you sure this will bring about the most damage?¡± Dandan looked at Meilin with a hint of skepticism. ¡°.... Don''t question me blue boy¡±. The slim looking girl with a short haircut scoffed. ¡°..... My dad worked in a demolition team. I know my way with explosives¡±. She said while looking at the barrels. Each one was filled to the brim with blasting jelly, enough to destroy a good portion of the stronghold if placed above ground. Dandan frowned with displeasure. After several weeks of getting along, Meilin''s nickname for him due to his blue hair color never ceased to serve as an annoyance. ¡°Of course, the effect would be better if Peng over here could make a deep enough opening in the walls. The wider spread out they are, the better the effect¡±. The Earthbender kid frowned. His hand scratching his head full of brown hair. ¡°My Earthbending isn''t proficient enough. It will take time¡±. ¡°Time is what we don''t have¡±. Their leader uttered, taking off her hood to reveal deep blue eyes and a head of mousy brown hair reaching all the way to her chin. She took off the backpack from behind, her actions not ceasing as she spoke. ¡°We don''t know how long we have before someone realizes something''s up. Don''t forget, those guards are still frozen out there. If a patrol team comes, and we''re still here, then we''re done for¡±. She reached into her bag, taking out several objects from within. ¡°We don''t need the explosion to be too big. Just big enough to completely collapse this tunnel from here to the other side. Or ..... Part of it, at least. That way, their operations with the fire Nation will come to a halt. Hopefully, long enough for us to transfer the news to Omashu and they can send real help¡±. Clang! A soft clatter resounded in the tunnel as two gold colored metal fans were placed on the ground. Following which, she took out what looked to be a sword hilt with no blade on the other end. Of course, that changed after she applied force on a certain area. The blade emerged from the hilt, extending rapidly until it became a full 56 centimeter katana. Placing her hand on the blade, the metal emitted a slight coolness to its sharp edge. ¡°With the tunnel''s collapse, they can''t sell off skilled refugees as merchandise to the fire nation. It will take them some time before they can rebuild it ¡­. About ¡­". She turned to Meilin who replied promptly. ¡°It depends on the damage done, really. We don''t know how long this tunnel extends. But as long as there are Earthbenders working on it, I estimate about two to four days¡±. ¡°Then that''s how much time we have¡±. Receiving a reply, their female leader nodded with firm conviction. ¡°That''s how much time we have to get the word to Omashu so they can bring these traitorous bastards down. Blowing up the tunnel is the only thing we can do to prevent more people from getting sold to the fire nation for gold by these heartless savages before that happens¡±. Her voice carried unprecedented firmness, and her eyes shone with determination. ¡°Fenfang. You''ve seen it for yourself. Once we blow this place it, it won''t be safe here. They''ll be looking for those who caused it, and your mom will be in danger. Can you convince her to come with us now?¡± Her gaze turned to the blonde standing a distance away. Fenfang. Seeing everyone''s attention turning towards her, she lowered her head slightly to avoid their eyes and nodded without speaking. Fenfang wasn''t usually outspoken, seemed shy and was usually timid. Her current behavior was normal. ¡°Alright¡±. Their leader nodded before turning her attention away. The next thing she pulled out was an architectural design. A blueprint of the Haican Stronghold itself. ¡°We need to make sure that we aren''t here when that happens. Once the fuses are lit, we sneak back the same way we came and pick up Fenfang''s mother from the refugee quarters. The blown up tunnel will draw all their attention while we escape through the enclosed sewer entrance. That''s our exit channel¡±. Dandan and Peng''s eyes lit up. ¡°So that''s what you got when you snuck into the soldier''s Garrison¡±. ¡°Yep. The blueprints show that this sewer line has been here before the village was transformed. It''s well hidden, so they probably never saw any need to close it up. Currently, it''s the safest way out of here¡±. She uttered while examining their expressions. While Peng and Dandan were nodding. Meilin was frowning slightly. ¡°What''s wrong?¡± ¡°Are you sure about this Mingxia?¡± She asked with a bit of hesitation. ¡°Once this tunnel explodes, the whole place will be on alert. The fuses can only hold out for about three minutes at most. Anything after that will be completely out of our control¡±. Everyone fell silent. They knew what Meilin was talking about. The exit plan was there, but complications were complications because you never expected them until they appeared. If they didn''t get into those sewers before the base went on alert, the consequences were obvious. And that was just the issues they were seeing with their own eyes. Who knows if anything else might happen that would take the plan off the rails. ¡°..... Guys. It''s ok¡±. The gloomy mood was interrupted by Mingxia speaking once again. ¡°I know it''s risky. But we''re already here. We can''t turn back, not now. Not when we''ve already placed the explosives¡±. Her voice was unprecedentedly solemn. ¡°These people being sold are just like us. They are refugees. Many of them have lost their homes, friends, and family to the fire nation. Now some of them are losing their freedom as well. Wouldn''t you want others to do the same for you if you were in their position?¡± Everyone fell silent as her words hit them hard in their hearts. ¡°We''re not fighting the entire base. As long as we do this and get out of here smoothly, then the hard part is over. I left my people and my Island because I was sick of being isolated from everything else. I came to the mainland to see the world, to meet new people, and to help those who needed me. That''s what I''m doing, and that''s how we all met each other. And now, I need you guys to help me¡±. ¡°...¡±. Silence. No one uttered a word for several seconds. Until ¡­. ¡°Hey, I was just asking. You know you''ve always got my help whenever you need it¡±. Meilin came over with a loving smile. Then she squinted her eyes and poked. ¡°All you have to do now is put on the makeup and regalia and this will probably be one of those epic Kyoshi warrior moments you always tell us about. I''m sure Suki and your friends would all be proud¡±. ¡°Hehehe¡­. Makeup or not, I''m still a Kyoshi warrior at heart¡±. Mingxia chuckled, then turned to look at the others. ¡°Guys?¡± ¡°Us too¡±. Dandan and Peng took a look at each other before nodding in unison. They were already here, why not just get it over with? Mingxia''s smile grew wider. ¡°Fenfang?¡± Then she turned towards the only other female in the group. However, Fenfang who was standing a good four feet away, remained unresponsive. Her lack of response caused the atmosphere to grow awkward as the two boys raised an eyebrow. ¡°Fenfang, are you ......¡±. ¡°I''m ¡­. I''m fine ¡­". The blonde girl shook her head frantically before taking several steps back. ¡°Fenfang? Is something wrong?¡± Meilin frowned and asked in concern. ¡°.... No, it''s ..... It''s ¡­.¡±. Mingxia''s smile faded slightly. ¡°It''s ok if you''re scared Fen ¡­ I know it''s ¡­". Her words stopped abruptly. Because as she spoke, tears began to stream down from the blond girl''s face. ¡°Fen ¡­. Ok, Fen, now you''re scaring us¡±. Peng who was not very outspoken uttered with concern. ¡°What''s the matter?¡± ¡°I ¡­.¡±. Incoherent words emerged from her small lips as tears streamed. ¡°I. ¡­ I''m sorry¡±. ¡°Sorry?¡± Confusion emerged on their faces. ¡°Sorry for wh ¡­.¡±. Thud! Thud! Thud! At that moment, the sound of multiple footsteps emerged from the entrance, causing everyone''s faces to change drastically. ¡°Hehehehehe ..... Sorry, indeed¡±. Under everyone''s gazes, several earth kingdom soldiers walked down the entrance, with a tall, burly male taking the lead. ¡°Well well well. An Earthbender, Waterbender, a demolition expert and a former Kyoshi Warrior from Kyoshi Island¡±. The group came to a halt. With his hands placed behind his back, Captain Li Shan uttered with an expression of intrigue. ¡°What a wonderful group of individuals. And must I say, that speech you gave was very moving. Almost made me shed a tear¡±. At that moment, even if they were idiots, they could piece together what was going on. "Fenfang ..... You ....". Chapter 36 So Can I At that moment, even if they were idiots, they could piece together what was going on. ¡°Fenfang ..... You ¡­.¡±. Mingxia uttered incoherently with a face full of shock, but the blonde girl lowered her head in guilt. ¡°You sold us out¡±. ¡°Yes, she did¡±. Captain Li Shan uttered indifferently. ¡°You ¡­. How could you? We were friends¡±. ¡°We Weren''t Friends!¡± At that moment, the sobbing girl suddenly yelled in outrage. Tears still streaming from her eyes. ¡°We barely met three weeks ago. We were barely acquaintances¡±. Her voice was choked. Everyone on the opposite end was taken aback by her sudden outburst. After all, in the time they had known her, not once had she done so. All but one, of course. ¡°We fed you. Took care of you. Saved your mother¡±. Meilin, the literal tomboy of the group, didn''t give a damn and yelled in a loud voice. ¡°How could you be so ungrateful¡­.¡±. ¡°You think I wanted to do this?¡± Listening to the sentences, Fenfang yelled angrily. ¡°You think I wanted to sell you out? No, you guys blew your cover a long time ago¡±. ¡°What?¡± ¡°The girl''s right¡±. The Captain uttered, coming behind her and patting the girl on her shoulder. ¡°My men keep an accurate account of everything in the armory. Four missing barrels of blasting powder would definitely be brought to my attention. As for how I knew who exactly .....¡±. His eyes turned and locked on Mingxia as he let out a sinister grin. ¡°People snooping around the soldier''s garrison doesn''t happen often, but that doesn''t mean it doesn''t happen at all. Among the refugees, there are always some ..... Overzealous ones with their ''Gut instincts'' among them¡±. ¡°You were followed once you were discovered. Implicating your little friends¡±. Mingxia''s face turned pale. ¡°You know, at first, I feared that you were from Omashu. So I had my men take one of you for interrogation. Everything came out naturally¡±. One was a fierce Earth kingdom soldier. The other was a scared blonde refugee girl who was usually soft-spoken. The result was obvious. Mingxia had her eyes narrowed. ¡°You used her to get to us¡±. ¡°Of course¡±. He replied indifferently. ¡°With the right bargaining chips, our little girl here was more than happy to cooperate¡±. Meilin''s expression turned cold. ¡°You''ll pay for this¡±. Captain Li Shan chuckled. ¡°I doubt I will. But don''t worry, I have no plans to kill you. After all. ¡­". Under their gaze, that sinister grin widened even more. ¡°Your skills will fetch a hefty price from the Fire Nation. You are worth more to me alive¡±. Apart from the Ex Kyoshi warrior who would have lower market value, the others would make quite a profit. After all, benders weren''t cheap. ¡°Why?¡± Dandan''s eyes locked on Fenfang. ¡°What did they promise you to make you betray us¡±. Fenfang''s voice trembled. ¡°My ¡­. Mother''s life¡±. Mingxia''s face fell. ¡°Fenfang ¡­ you ¡­.¡±. ¡°That''s enough chatter¡±. Unfortunately, it seemed that the captain had had enough of small talks. ¡°Take them away¡±. Everyone''s expressions changed. Swoosh! It happened then. Seeing the Earthbenders step forward, Dandan immediately yanked the black cloak covering his body off with full force. Under the dim lantern lights, the cloak was pulled apart, revealing the blue shirt and pants hidden underneath, as well as confirming his identity as a waterbender. That, however, wasn''t all it revealed. With the cloak taken off, a rather large waterskin could be seen strapped to his back for emergency uses. The young blue-haired boy, barely fifteen years old narrowed his eyebrows as a large amount of Chi within him stirred into action. Water surged, pouring out from the flask behind him and following the slight clenching of his empty left hand, it was thrust towards the enemy group. The sudden turn of events was beyond most people''s reaction speed. Unfortunately, the Earthbenders weren''t one of them. Rumble! Two soldiers took a step forward and slammed their legs against the ground. The Earth in the underground tunnel rose upward to form a natural defensive barrier protecting their captain, who still stood expressionlessly with his hands behind his back. Just when the wall rose, the stream of water took on a much colder temperature and separated to form numerous icicles. Bang! Bang! Bang! The water collided against the earth causing multiple dents on the newly raised wall but causing no further damage. Although the waterskin attached to his back was extra large, the water supply was ultimately limited. The blue-haired boy didn''t have enough to actually break past the earth barrier to pose actual harm. Luckily, he didn''t need to. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Seeing their sights obstructed, another stream of water emerged from the water skin, shaping into a ball as he moved his hands and ...... Puff! The water heated up instantly to the highest point he could make it. All in a split second, the large water ball evaporated to form mist before exploding in all directions. ¡°Run!¡± After doing this, Dandan shouted before turning around and rushing deeper into the tunnel. The previous attack was for this move. Creating mist to obscure the earthbenders sight and shield them while they ran for their lives in the only way they could. His words immediately awoke his companions, who wasted no time in taking this split second advantage and running after him. Their operation had long been discovered and ended before it could even begin. This was literally their worst fears at the moment. But things had already reached this point, and although they were young, they weren''t foolish. Standing and fighting would lead to a swift and miserable defeat. So they chose the best option. Flee. The earth wall receded, and the soldiers immediately had their sights clouded by the watery mist. The Captain''s face darkened. ¡°Capture them! Alive¡±. He ordered in a low tone. The Earthbenders immediately obeying his commands and rushing into the mist without hesitation. ¡°Hmph¡±. Looking at the trembling blonde girl beside him, he let out a cold snort as the mist spread towards his area, slightly obscuring his eyesight. His head filled with a lot of thoughts ¡°..... That blue-haired kid¡­.¡±. The previous scene appeared in his mind. ¡°..... At such a young age, he didn''t even make any bending movements. Yet could still release a sudden attack with such skill. Impressive¡±. The strength of a bender laid in his combat experience and mastery of his/her element. There was no systematic level for ranking bending mastery, and likewise, benders of the elements. They could only be crudely divided into Novice, skilled and master without further context. Nevertheless, certain achievements in bending could be used as a reference to judge one''s progress. Like Waterbending for example. Any decent waterbender could move water or control a small puddle to float. However, the ability to freeze water into solid ice was considered a small milestone. So was the ability to separate water from muddy earth. Then there were other examples like bending the water in vines, absorbing the water from plants and lush vegetation, all the way to the ultimate form of the art ..... Bloodbending. Mist was created by heating water until it turned into white gas. In terms of combat lethality, it paled deeply when compared to freezing water, but its difficulty wasn''t on the same level. Freezing water was one thing, heating it up, on the other hand, was much harder to accomplish. Yet, a young child had managed not only to do both, but also do it without hand movements. Bending with the mind. What a natural prodigy. From what the captain could remember, The Fire Nation had captured many water benders from the southern water tribe. Hunting them to the point where waterbenders had become a scarce commodity. Surely, they would be willing to pay for another addition ..... ¡°I ¡­.¡±. A weak voice pulled him out of his reverie. Turning his gaze, he saw the little blonde brat standing next to him and his gaze hardened. Time to tie up unnecessary loose ends. Seeing his indifferent gaze, Fenfang trembled with slight fear. She wanted to keep her mouth shut but thinking of why she did this in the first place, she mustered up her courage to speak. ¡°I ¡­. did what you asked. So you''ll let my mother go, right?¡± In order to make sure nothing went wrong, Fenfang''s mother had been taken away by Li Shan''s guards. Used to threaten her to comply or face the consequences. Hearing this, the Captain''s face lit up with a sneer. He had gone along with all this for two reasons. One, he had initially feared that Mingxia and her group were spies sent from Omashu to investigate. After all, he had sold hundreds of skilled refugees to the Fire Nation in the past few months. There would definitely be many people inquiring about their missing family members. The second reason was because he wanted to keep this matter as low as possible. A big scene would certainly attract the attention of the refugees as well as other soldiers. Let it be known, this base was technically still an Earth Kingdom stronghold. The number of soldiers here were large, but the actual number of collaborators were few. Many of these soldiers still had their hearts for the earth kingdom, thinking that they were stationed here for the noble cause of helping refugees. The best their knowledge allowed them to know was that there was a separate channel for refugees with better skills, which they felt was understandable. In simpler terms, everyone falsely thought they were under the same banner. But the moment the actual soldiers realized that their captain had betrayed them, then things would take a turn for the worst. The consequences of betraying your nation were quite harsh. There were few situations where it didn''t end with immediate execution on the spot. Li Shan was practically walking on the edge of a cliff every passing day. One wrong move would destroy everything. So no matter how small, Li Shan wouldn''t risk letting his true dealings be revealed. Not even an inkling of doubt should exist to the point of being verbally voiced out. So apart from two other officers other than the ones already here, no one knew what was happening at the moment. The Captain never considered the possibility that the teen group would escape. Not to mention that that direction ultimately led to Fire Nation, the unit that transported the last batch should already be on their way right now. These kids were basically blocked from both sides. And now that the situation was under control, what use did he have for this small blonde beauty who was underdeveloped on both ends? ¡°Rest assured, you have my word that your mother will not be harmed¡±. He uttered sinisterly. ¡°Thank the spirits¡±. Hearing this, the stone in Fenfang''s heart fell as she received insurance. For her mother, betraying her friends was well worth it. At least she thought so. But the next words that came out made her face turn pale. ¡°.... As you will be taking her place¡±. ¡°You ¡­". The poor girl had her eyes shrink. ¡°I did give my word that I wouldn''t harm your mother if you complied. I don''t remember saying anything about guaranteeing your safety¡±. He uttered with cold eyes. The only ones who could know of his betrayal were the unfortunate refugees who had already been sold. Anyone else ¡­. Couldn''t be left alive. His words cut through her like a knife. ¡°You ..... You can''t do this¡±. She stammered. ¡°I can ¡­". He uttered, unmoved as his Chi began to stir. ¡°... And I will¡±. The mist had already begun to dissipate. Not that it mattered anyway, as it wasn''t thick enough to mess with his vision at such a close distance. The Captain''s raised his head, a ruthless gleam flashing through his eyes. However ...... His actions were interrupted as fine grains of sand fell before his eyes from the ceiling. He gazed upward. Unknown to him that the moment he did, a black shadow fell from the ceiling, landing with a soft thud behind him. Squelch! Blood spurted out, splashing into the frightened little girl''s face. The Captain''s body froze in place, as his head fell to the floor while carrying an inquisitive expression upon death. ¡°What a coincidence ¡­.¡±. Luca looked at the head he had easily decapitated. ¡°.... So can I¡±.