《Noah's Ark》 Chapter 1: Encounter ¡°Ughhhh, I¡¯m so hungry. I really should have came more prepared.¡± Raion, who looked to be in his late teenage years, slowly made his way through the thick forest. His unruly white hair danced in the soft gust of wind that breezed by. ¡°I think I¡¯m lost hahaha...¡± As he walked further into the thicket he came across a girl. ¡°OH HEY! Do you think you can help me out here?¡± ¡°Are you talking to me?¡± She had long jet black hair and was wearing a gray sweater with a hoodie. She was carrying a small mini backpack that was in the shape of a kitty. ¡°Uhhhh, I think it¡¯s just me and you here no?¡± She shook her head and pointed at the group of men who were closing in on their location. ¡°This doesn¡¯t look like something I should be involved in, so I¡¯m going to leave...¡± ¡°Wait! Are you just going to leave a girl here by herself???¡± ¡°Well you look like you have everything taken care of.¡± ¡°You said you needed help right? I¡¯ll help you, if you help me, it¡¯s only fair.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I swear, it¡¯s nothing too bad, just a little misunderstanding with them, just need someone else here with me so they don¡¯t all gang up on me. I¡¯ll handle the talking and you just stand there and look pretty.¡± Raion let out a small sigh, and nodded to the agreement. He was already lost for a couple of days now and his hunger limit was reaching its peak, so at this point he¡¯d do anything for some help. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s a deal.¡±This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°PERFECT!¡± She moved toward Raion. The group of men finally arrived at their location. The group consisted of four members. One of the more notable members was a shirtless guy who had white tribal marks on his chest. His hair was white, almost identical to Raion¡¯s but was much longer in length. It reached all the way down to his waist. ¡°Ayy Neko-chan, why¡¯d you run off? You know there¡¯s no point in trying to get away from us.¡± She moved forward slightly, placed her hand on her waist and pointed a finger at him. ¡°Baison, you know that I held my end of the bargain, now just let me be, I don¡¯t want to deal with the Ox clan anymore. What would he say about this, knowing you were trying overturn his decision.¡± ¡°Hey hey now, no need to go bother him with all of this. Let¡¯s just say I¡¯m here to renegotiate the terms and conditions of that contract.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing to renegotiate here, I¡¯m done. It¡¯s over Baison.¡± Baison¡¯s face slowly started getting red hot. ¡°Well we¡¯ll talk more about this once I bring you back to the clan¡¯s base.¡± As he reached for her hand, Raion stepped in and grabbed his wrist. ¡°Hey, she said she was done.¡± Raion stared down Baison. ¡°Why can¡¯t you just let her go?¡± Everyone, besides Raion, took a moment to take in the situation. No one thought to dare lay a hand on Baison. His henchmen were in shock. ¡°And who is this boy Neko-chan?¡± The edges of her mouth curved up a bit, showing a slight grin. ¡°Someone to deal with you Baison.¡± He let out a hearty chuckle. ¡°Hey kid, I¡¯ll let you off with a warning since you probably got fooled into this by her sweet talk or something, but you definitely don¡¯t want to be messing with the Ox clan, or rather yet, be messing with me.¡± Baison went on to free himself from Raion¡¯s grip, but as soon as he tried to pull his wrist away, he couldn¡¯t. Raison¡¯s grip held on tight and kept Baison¡¯s wrist from escaping his grasp. ¡°Nothing personal here. She promised to help me, if I helped her and as of now I desperately need some help.¡± Baison¡¯s face was no longer amused at the situation. As one of the strongest member in the Ox clan, his reputation and pride took a slight hit when failed to free himself. ¡°You¡¯re dead now kid.¡± The three other henchmen that were with Baison quickly came from behind him and lunged towards Raion. Raion quickly let go of Baison¡¯s wrist and fended off the three pronged attack. The first enemy he quickly put away by stepping back and throwing a quick backhand to the enemy¡¯s face. Using the same hand he threw a straight, knocking out the second enemy while simultaneously whipping his other arm around and crushing the bridge of the third enemy¡¯s nose with his elbow. ¡°Ohhhh. Looks like you do have some skill after all. But the person you¡¯re trying to protect is gone.¡± Raion looked around to see that she had disappeared from the scene. ¡°What did you do to her?¡± ¡°Huh? I didn¡¯t do anything...¡± Baison gripped at the sides of his stomach while palming his face. He was hunched over. His body was shaking from pure amusement. ¡°HAHAHAHAHAHA! She left you kid. Played you for a fool!¡± Baison slowly regained his composure rising back up straight. He pulled back his hair, running his fingers through them and looked straight at Raion. ¡°Did you honestly think she was some kind of helpless girl? Such a shame though. You¡¯re gonna die an early death because of her.¡±

END

Chapter 2: Tussle ¡°Hey now, is it too late to forgive and forget about this situation?¡± Raion put his hands up while moving back. ¡°You think you can get out this now?¡± Baison slowly inched his way towards Raion leaving footprints that were etched deep into the earth. ¡°Are you sure this is what you really want to do? Come on Baison, no one really wins here in this situation...¡± Raion started to gather his composure. ¡°You¡¯re right, but I¡¯m not one who usually follows common sense.¡± Baison lunged quickly at Raion which caught him off guard and landed a devastating punch right into his gut which had him flying through the forest crashing and breaking through trees that were behind him. Raion¡¯s body finally stopped flying as he hit the base of a trunk. ¡°Shit.¡± Raion grasped at his rib cage, coughing up blood into his hands. His vision was blurry. ¡°How far did I fly. That guy is definitely no joke, I didn¡¯t even have time to put up my guard.¡± Raion slowly got up to his feet, stabling himself with the tree¡¯s support behind him. ¡°I need to get out of here quick, befor-¡± Baison quickly appeared behind Raion. ¡°Going somewhere kid?¡± Before Raion could leap away to safety, Baison threw a punch straight down on Raion¡¯s head crushing him into the ground. Baison slowly ran his fingers through his hair.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Ahhh, get up, get up, get up.¡± As he kept saying it, he kept kicking Raion over and over again in the gut. ¡°Where¡¯s your enthusiasm now kid?¡± Baison smirked as he winded back his leg and kicked Raion hard in the gut sending him flying out of the forest onto the coast of a beach. ¡°Fuck, sent him flying again.¡± Baison grunted and made his way towards the direction Raion flew at. ¡°Shit, this guy keeps catching me off guard. I still have a lot to learn.¡± Raion grasped at his ribcage assessing the damage that was done to him. ¡°I think a couple ribs are broken...¡± Raion laid his head back, closing his eyes aw he was trying to recover as much energy as possible. When he opened his eyes again he saw someone looking at him from afar. ¡°What are you waiting for Baison, come and get me.¡± Raion shouted as he steadily climbed back up to his feet. ¡°Relax kid, I¡¯m no Baison. My question is what are you doing out all the way here?¡± Raion squinted his eyes and looked again to see a man with long flowing red hair sitting in a boat right off the coast of the beach. ¡°Aha...¡± Raion let out a nervous laughter. ¡°I let my guard down, and got sent flying all the way out here.¡± He looked back at the forest sensing Baison closing in on him. Raion readied his fighting stance. ¡°Oh...is that beast kenpo stance?¡± The man with the red hair thought as his boat closed in on the shore. [Meanwhile in the forest] Baison reached the edge of the forest and saw Raion in the distance. ¡°There¡¯s that little shit.¡± Before he went on the offensive again, he saw the man on the boat. ¡°Tsk...forgot this was his territory.¡± Baison turned his back, before leaving back to his task, he turned his head towards Raion and muttered. ¡°I¡¯ll remember your face and the fact you dared to step up against me. Next time I won¡¯t make the same mistake and play with my food again¡± [On the shore] ¡°I can¡¯t sense Baison¡¯s presence, did he leave?¡± Raion anxiously awaited Baison¡¯s attack. ¡°If you¡¯re wondering why your pursuer isn¡¯t coming, it¡¯s because he can¡¯t.¡± ¡°What do you mean he can¡¯t?¡± ¡°Because this place is my jurisdiction.¡± Raion looked around. ¡°Wow, this whole coast?¡± ¡°Err, technically it¡¯s just that boat over there.¡± The man pointed to the boat behind him. ¡°Wait...that is your jurisdiction?? ¡°Yeah...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m going to be on my way now, thanks for chasing away Baison.¡± ¡°Hold on kid, there¡¯s something I need to confirm.¡± END Chapter 3: Bonds ¡°Uhh...so what can I help you with?¡± Raion brushed off dirt that was on him. ¡°That fighting stance of yours, where did you learn it from?¡± The man with the long red hair moved forward inspecting Raion. He circled Raion checking out his arm, legs and overall body structure. ¡°From my master...¡± ¡°Ohhh? Your master? Your master¡¯s name wouldn¡¯t happen to be Ten Tenshi now would it?¡± The man stepped back and looked closely at Raion¡¯s face. Raion shook his head. ¡°Nope, my master¡¯s name was Mesu.¡± The man cocked his head to the right in bewilderment. ¡°Was? Does that mean you master is dead?¡± Raion had a distant look in his eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t really feel like talking anymore about this matter, however, who are you?¡± Raion pointed his finger towards the red haired man. ¡°You really came here not knowing anything huh? But nonetheless you can just call me Doriama.¡± Doriama gave a thumbs up towards Raion. ¡°Doriama? Well Doriama thanks again, my name¡¯s Raion.¡± Doriama crossed his arms and looked straight at Raion.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°But why are you even here? Better question yet, how did you get here?¡± Doriama placed his hand under his chin and stroked it in thought. You don¡¯t seem like someone who has been here awhile.¡± Raion nodded to Doriama¡¯s statement. ¡°Yeah I got here by climbing Noah¡¯s Anchor.¡± ¡°Oh Noah¡¯s Anchor, okay, wait WHAT?¡± Doriama examined Raion closely. ¡°Noah¡¯s Anchor? No Regular has ever been able to climb it, but more importantly...¡± ¡°Hey Raion, how did you get past the guards?¡± Raion had a confused look on his face. ¡°The guards? I didn¡¯t run into any on the way up.¡± Doriama stopped stroking his chin. ¡°What?¡± Doriama stroked his chin in thought. ¡°Mhmm something¡¯s off. I need to keep an eye out for this one¡± ¡°You¡¯re quite something Raion, so what brings you to Noah¡¯s Ark?¡± ¡°To get stronger and defeat [Bahamut].¡± Doriama laughed and scoffed at the idea. ¡°You¡¯re serious? [Bahamut]? Destruction itself? Why?¡± ¡°I have my reasons. I know I¡¯m not strong enough yet that¡¯s why I need to enter the Zodiac Tournament to atleast get my hands on a Spirit Equip.¡± The edges of Doriama¡¯s mouth hooked upwards. ¡°Even with the powers of Spirit Equip you still won¡¯t be able to defeat [Bahamut] and you know that already don¡¯t you?¡± Doriama shook his head in disbelief at Raion. ¡°I will end that beast.¡± Raion gripped his hands tightly. ¡°Where does your confidence even come from kid?¡± Doriama scratched his head. ¡°As long as my chance isn¡¯t zero I¡¯ll keep going at it.¡± Raion smiled beamed with brightness. ¡°You know, it actually is at zero right?¡± Raion frowned. ¡°Well that¡¯s just your opinion.¡± Doriama let out a hearty laugh. ¡°I like it, I¡¯ll sponsor your ambitions kid.¡± Doriama patted Raion¡¯s back. ¡°Sponsor?¡± Doriama let out a long sigh. ¡°Come on kid, if you want to join the tournament you atleast need to study up on the process. I¡¯ll give you a short breakdown. The [Zodiac Tournament] is a battle between the Zodiac¡¯s twelve candidates. One of the prizes like you mentioned is a chance to obtain a Spirit Equip, however, the winning candidate also brings back special privileges to their clan. The only problem for you is that, you need to be in one of the Zodiac¡¯s clans to participate and that¡¯s where I come in.¡± Doriama pointed his finger towards Raion¡¯s heart. ¡°Let me properly introduce myself, I am Oni Doriama, the head of the Rooster Clan.¡± Raion stuttered stepped back ever so slightly at the presence of Doriama. His aura seemed so much bigger than before. An overwhelming person was in front of him. ¡°Raion, do you want to be apart of the Rooster Clan and be our chosen candidate for the upcoming [Zodiac Tournament]?¡± END Chapter 4: Clans Candidate ¡°What do you say Raion?¡± Doriama extended his hand. ¡°Want to be apart of the Rooster Clan?¡± Raion folded his arms and looked at Doriama. ¡°Well at this point, it doesn¡¯t really look like I have any other choice.¡± Raion reached in to shake Doriama¡¯s hand. ¡°I¡¯m in Doriama.¡± As Raion was reaching in, Doriama pulled his hand away at the last second. ¡°Actually there¡¯s something you need to do before I can give you the mark of the Rooster Clan.¡± Raion put his hand back down to his side. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Doriama crossed his arms. ¡°Normally for someone to get initiated into any clan they have to give us a letter of recommendation, a resume and pass a test.¡± ¡°Ahh yes, yess...what.¡±This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Raion threw his hands up in the air. ¡°WAIT A MINUTE THERE, that sounds like someone I¡¯d do for a job.¡± Doriama closed his eyes and nodded in agreement. ¡°Well of course, being initiated into a clan is serious business. We need to see if you¡¯re actually qualified to join us. More importantly though...¡± Doriama looked at Raion. ¡°We need to know if you¡¯re compatible with the mark. The more compatible you are with the mark, the more power you can draw from it.¡± Raion tilted his head. ¡°Wait so you¡¯re saying the mark can actually give you power?¡± Doriama shook his finger. ¡°Yes...but technically speaking it¡¯s more like you¡¯re taking my power and fusing it with yours. It¡¯ll make more sense once you see it in action.¡± Doriama continued on. ¡°On the other hand, if the mark rejects you, not only do you not gain anything from it, it can actually hinder your growth because my power will be constantly fighting against yours and suppressing your abilities.¡± Raion took a second to gather his thoughts. ¡°Interesting...so what do I have to do to see if I¡¯m compatible with the mark?¡± ¡°Well, I can give you the mark right now and depending on how your body reacts we¡¯ll know right away.¡± ¡°Is that it? I thought there¡¯d be more to this.¡± Doriama sighed. ¡°Well usually there would be, but seeing as how we¡¯re a little short on time before the tournament begins, this is the fastest way to go about this.¡± ¡°Alright, so what do you need me to do?¡± ¡°Well first we need to head back to the clan¡¯s base. I need to prepare some stuff before I can put the mark on you.¡± Raion looked around at the coast. ¡°But aren¡¯t we already here at the base?¡± Doriama laughed. ¡°This is just a temporary base, the real place is located quite far from here.¡± ¡°How...far are we talking about?¡± Doriama pondered on the thought for abit. ¡°Normally...I¡¯d say around 2 weeks?¡± ¡°Two weeks?! Doesn¡¯t the tournament start in a week?¡± Doriama stroked his chin. ¡°Yes, so we best hurry if we¡¯d like to make it in time. Gather yourself and let¡¯s head out.¡± Doriama and Raion left the coast and headed into the woods. On the outskirts of the coast a couple of hooded figures were there. ¡°Report this to the leader...the bird has left the nest.¡±

END

Chapter 5: Gatekeeper ¡°Sir, the bird has left the nest.¡± A hooded figure knelt down in front a man who was sitting down on a chair. The man had his legs crossed and looked down at the figure. ¡°Mhmm a little earlier than expected, let him be.¡± The hooded figure looked up at the man. ¡°B-but sir isn¡¯t he still supposed to be in exile. Shouldn¡¯t we go after him?¡± The man sitting down tilted his head and thought about it hard. ¡°We don¡¯t have time to really worry about his situation right now.¡± The man picked up a file on his desk. ¡°We have more important issues to worry about right now.¡± After reviewing the file he put it down on the desk again. ¡°Besides it¡¯ll be more interesting with him involved and if he was actually really serious about this, none of us could really hold him down.¡± ¡°B-but sir...¡± The man put his hand up in the air to silence the hooded figure. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, if I¡¯m not mistaken that person will be there¡± The man let out a laugh. [Meanwhile back in the forest] ¡°How much further until we get there?!¡± Raion was frantically trying to keep up with Doriama¡¯s pace. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re tired already? It hasn¡¯t even been two days since we¡®ve been running nonstop.¡± Doriama looked back at Raion. ¡°What, who said I was tired? I can run for a month nonstop.¡± Raion threw up a thumbs up. Doriama kept shaking his head. ¡°Sure sure.¡± Doriama looked up ahead at the path. ¡°Don¡¯t worry we¡¯ll be reaching our first checkpoint soon.¡± Raion looked at Doriama.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Checkpoint?¡± ¡°You know how Noah¡¯s Ark is made up of multiple islands right? Well currently we¡¯re on the outer islands. We have to reach the inner islands. That¡¯s where the main headquarters of each clan is located. But to reach the inner islands we have to get through the gates. Think of it like a security checkpoint.¡± Raion scratched the top of his head. ¡°Man didn¡¯t know Noah¡¯s Ark had so many little rules to it.¡± Doriama laughed. ¡°Of course. This isn¡¯t some lawless place.¡± Doriama pointed up ahead. ¡°That¡¯s the first checkpoint.¡± Doriama and Raion stopped in front of a huge gate. In front of the gate was an officer. ¡°Oi I¡¯m here to pass through.¡± Doriama waved at the officer. The officer pointed at Doriama. ¡°Apprehend that man!¡± A group of guards appeared out from the woods and tackled Doriama to the ground. ¡°Oiiii. Ouch. Careful!¡± The officer took out a whip and approached Doriama. ¡°Doriama, you think we wouldn¡¯t catch you?¡± Raion was in shocked. He looked at the officer then back down at Doriama. ¡°Uhh Doriama, what¡¯s happening here?¡± The officer looked at Raion. ¡°Who are you kid?¡± Raion stared at the officer and noticed that it was a woman. The officer was wearing a black cap. She had long flowing blonde hair that came down to her waist. Her lips were colored in red and her eyes were blue as the sea. Her outfit was a little revealing. She was wearing a small jacket, a black mini skirt and long black boots. She got close to Doriama while staring Raion down. ¡°Why are you with this man?¡± She pointed down at Doriama. ¡°I have business with him.¡± Raion shrugged. ¡°...Business?¡± She looked back down at Doriama. ¡°Oh...you dragged someone else into your mess huh?¡± She stepped on Doriama¡¯s face. ¡°This punishment...is that you Hina?¡± Doriama mumbled. Hina digged her heels in Doriama¡¯s face. ¡°Hi...na...I can explain.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing to explain Doriama. We¡¯re taking you back.¡± Raion raised his hand. ¡°Um can I get an explanation of what¡¯s happening here?¡± Hina looked back at Raion. ¡°Well this man here escaped the place his was exiled too.¡± Raion looked down at Doriama. ¡°Exiled???¡± Hina kept stomping on Doriama¡¯s face. ¡°Yes exiled.¡± ¡°Why was he exiled?¡± Hina gave Raion a stern look. ¡°I can¡¯t divulge any more information to you.¡± Hina grabbed Doriama¡¯s ear and picked him up. ¡°Ow. ow. OW.¡± Doriama winced at Hina. ¡°Can you take it easy Hina? We actually need to get moving. Can we do this some other tim-¡± Hina pulled Doriama¡¯s ear towards her mouth and shouted. ¡°HUH?!¡± The shout sent shockwaves through the woods causing birds to fly from their nests. ¡°You¡¯re not going anyway besides back to the place you were exiled to.¡± Hina pointed at the other guards, directing them. ¡°Alright bring Doriama in.¡± The guards came and got Doriama from Hina. She turned back and looked at Raion. ¡°Sorry kid, I don¡¯t know what he promised you, but it¡¯s not going to hap-¡± A loud thud was heard and the guards that held Doriama were on the ground unconscious. Doriama cleaned the dirt off his hands. ¡°DORRRRIAMAAAAAA¡± Hina turned and faced Doriama. She flung her whip at him, but he dodged and moved towards Raion. ¡°I told you Hina, we¡¯re kinda in a hurry. Let¡¯s catch up some other time ¡®kay?¡± He winked towards Hina. Hina was flustered. ¡°Heh, you think you won? You can¡¯t get passed here without my...keys....¡± Doriama showed Hina the keys that he held in his hands. ¡°You mean these?¡± Hina frantically searched herself. ¡°When did you?!¡± Doriama handed the keys over to Raion. ¡°Go open the gate Raion while I entertain her for a bit.¡± Raion nodded and ran towards the gate. ¡°You think he can actually make it to the gate?¡± Hina smirked and motioned her guards towards Raion. ¡°As long as you¡¯re not involved he should be fine.¡± Doriama stood in front of Hina. ¡°Mmph we¡¯ll see.¡±

END

Chapter 6: Resolve ¡°Let¡¯s make a deal Hina.¡± Doriama said as his crossed his arms. ¡°If my boy here beats your guards we get to go through the gate without any trouble, however, if he loses then I¡¯ll quietly go back with you.¡± Hina laughed. ¡°These are some of my best guards, you think he can beat them?¡± She lifted her hand to her mouth and smirked. ¡°You have yourself a deal, Doriama, you can¡¯t back out of this one.¡± Raion made his way towards the gate. However, several guards appeared in front of the gate. Raion stuttered stepped back and prepared to get into his stance. ¡°Man, why are people always so quick to fight.¡± He looked back at Doriama. ¡°Can¡¯t we all talk this over?¡± He shouted towards Doriama. ¡°She¡¯s not someone who talks.¡± Doriama laughed. Raion sighed as the guards started dashing towards Raion. ¡°Mhmm there seems to be only four guards here. I should be able to handle this swiftly.¡± Raion thought to himself as the first guard launched a fist at his face. Raion promptly dodged the fist and elbowed the guard in the face knocking him out in one blow. ¡°Oh...he¡¯s got some skill.¡± Hina looked at Raion. ¡°You know this is actually the first time I¡¯m seeing him fight.¡± Doriama watched Raion¡¯s movements closely. ¡°I¡¯ve been itching to see this Beast Kenpo in action.¡± Hina quickly turned to Doriama. ¡°You made that bet without actually seeing him fight? Where did you get this confidence to make that bet?¡± Doriama waved his finger at Hina. ¡°Just a hunch.¡± The next guard came at Raion with a flurry of punches. Raion was able to dodge these attacks with much ease. As the attacks kept getting faster, he was able to parry them and eventually landed a counter punch sending the guard flying into the trees. The other two guards nodded in an agreement to double team Raion next. They started to rush Raion.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Raion sighed. ¡°Let¡¯s get this over with quick.¡± Raion rushed to the meet the two guards. Both of them faltered a bit in their approach since they got startled by Raion¡¯s speed. Raion jumped and did a spinning roundhouse kick blasting the first guard into the ground. After gathering his composure again Raion swiftly kneed the second guard¡¯s chin rendering him unconscious. Needless to say both Hina and Doriama were quite surprised at Raion¡¯s skill. For someone without any special abilities his hand to hand combat was top tier. ¡°Looks like my boy won Hina.¡± Doriama chuckled and made his way towards Raion. ¡°How can this be...who is this boy Doriama?¡± Hina was left with a shocked expression. ¡°My trump card.¡± Doriama winked at Hina. ¡°Trump card? Don¡¯t tell me Doriama you plan on entering him?¡± ¡°Yeah that¡¯s right.¡± ¡°You think they will allow you to do as you please there Doriama?¡± Hina sighed and folded her arms. ¡°Well...¡± Doriama thought about it for a second. ¡°We¡¯ll see once we get there.¡± He let out a hearty chuckle. ¡°Hey kid.¡± Hina shouted towards Raion. Raion having beaten the guards regained his breath and looked at Hina. ¡°Yes...?¡± ¡°You¡¯re strong, I¡¯ll give you that.¡± She walked towards Raion. ¡°But if you plan on entering the tournament, I¡¯d advise against it.¡± She stood face to face with Raion. ¡°The people you¡¯ll be facing will be ten times no at least twenty times stronger then the guards you¡¯ll be facing.¡± Raion looked back down at the guards. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to say this, but those guards weren¡¯t anything special.¡± From the outcome of the battle Raion was barely even touched. If people saw him, it didn¡¯t even look he¡¯d just been in a fight. ¡°Well you do have a point there...¡± Doriama stepped him. ¡°You know Hina, he went up against that Baison and lived.¡± ¡°Baison? Oh...¡± Hina was intrigued now. ¡°You fought against him? How¡¯d that go?¡± Raion recalled the fight and broke eye contact with Hina. ¡°Well...he did have the upperhand. But I¡¯m pretty sure if I went up against him again I¡¯d fare pretty well.¡± Raion rubbed the back of his head. Hina pointed her whip at Raion. ¡°Let me tell you this kid. Baison will be entering that tournament. He¡¯s strong. But you know this already. What you don¡¯t know is, that in this the tournament, his strength would probably rank 5th out of the candidates.¡± ¡°5th?!¡± Raion¡¯s expression changed. ¡°Tsk...monsters...¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, monsters. Do you think you have the strength to beat them?¡± Raion looked straight at Hina. ¡°Well reaching the top wouldn¡¯t be interesting without the challenges right?¡± He clenched his fist. ¡°But that just means I can test where I stand against them. This¡¯ll a good way to see how ready I am.¡± Hina acknowledged his resolve. ¡°Mhmm you have an interesting one here Doriama.¡± She sighed ¡°Well a deal¡¯s a deal you¡¯re free to go.¡± Doriama and Raion passed through the gate. As they left, Hina smirked. ¡°Poor kid...he¡¯s gonna die. What¡¯s Doriama thinking...¡±

END

Chapter 7: Return ¡°It seems like you and Hina are close.¡± Raion said as he was running besides Doriama. ¡°Close is an understatement.¡± Doriama laughed as the continued to run towards the clan¡¯s base. ¡°What is your relationship with her anyways?¡± ¡°We go way back. But that story is for another time.¡± Both Raion and Doriama traveled a great distance after passing the gate. They traversed through the woods, passed rivers and even across mountains before reaching their destination. ¡°It¡¯s right up ahead.¡± Doriama pointed as the closed in on the base. Raion and Doriama finally stopped at the location. It was a small farming village. The fields weren¡¯t large, but it had an abundance of different items growing. As both of them continued walking into the village the farmers who were hard at work slowly popped up their head one by one looking at the two. ¡°Hey is that...¡± ¡°Yeah I think you¡¯re right he is...¡± ¡°NO WAY!¡± Whispers. Murmurs. Talking. Until finally an eruption of excitement blanketed the farmers. ¡°DORIAMA¡¯S BACK EVERYBODY!¡± All the farmers gathered towards Doriama and Raion showing their excitement. Doriama turned towards the farmers and raised his fist in the air. ¡°TONIGHT WE¡¯RE GOING TO PARTY!¡± All the farmers raised their fist in unison. ¡°Wow they really love you here.¡± Raion tacked on as he saw the enthusiasm in everyone. Doriama waved them goodbye and both of them headed deeper into the village until the stumbled upon a small pub. ¡°We¡¯re here Raion.¡± Doriama pushed open the door. ¡°I¡¯M HOOOM-¡± A fist came and punched Doriama in the face.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ¡°IDIOT.¡± A man shouted at Doriama as he twisted his fist on top of Doriama¡¯s head. ¡°Umashiro, nice to see you again.¡± Doriama grabbed the top of his head in pain. Umashiro was a tall man with short brown hair. He was wearing a butler type get up that was black and white. Umashiro looked at Raion. ¡°I see you brought a visitor.¡± Doriama stood back up and patted Raion on the back. ¡°Yup, this is going to be our candidate for the tournament.¡± Umashiro¡¯s jaw dropped as he stared at Raion. Umashiro closed his eyes sighed heavily. ¡°You know Doriama, they¡¯re not going to let him participate.¡± Umashiro turned to Doriama once again. ¡°Even if they did let him participate, we have way more capable members than him.¡± Umashiro turned towards Raion. ¡°No offense kid, but I don¡¯t know how good you are, so I can¡¯t just blindly trust a stranger.¡± Raion looked back at Umashiro. ¡°I understand. No offense taken. This was something that was just sprung on me to be honest.¡± Raion laughed faintly. ¡°Having said that, now that I¡¯ve been given this opportunity, I¡¯m not going to let it go.¡± Raion stared down Umashiro. ¡°But you know...for a clan¡¯s base, this village is pretty small no?¡± Umashiro darted his eyes towards Doriama. Doriama looked away from Umashiro. ¡°Well for starters, our base used to be A LOT bigger until someone had to go and commit a taboo.¡± Doriama whistled in the air. ¡°Now now, the past is in the past.¡± Doriama interjected. ¡°Let¡¯s worry about the future now shall we?¡± Doriama wrapped his arms both Umashiro¡¯s and Raion¡¯s neck. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about the tournament.¡± Umashiro peeled Doriama¡¯s arm away from him. ¡°There¡¯s nothing to talk about, he can¡¯t enter. He doesn¡¯t even have our clan¡¯s mark.¡± Doriama looked at Umashiro right in the eyes. ¡°You can¡¯t mean...¡± Umashiro turned towards Raion and pointed at him. ¡°You¡¯re gonna give him the mark.¡± Doriama nodded. Umashiro let out another sigh. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll go get the stuff.¡± Raion looked surprised. ¡°I thought you¡¯d be against this from the way you were acting before.¡± Umashiro shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Well normally I would, but the boss here is stubborn once he¡¯s made a decision.¡± Umashiro went into the back of the pub and grabbed a bunch of items and placed them on the counter of the pub. Raion made his way to the counter and looked at the items. ¡°These look like mixes for a drink...¡± Umashiro and Doriama smiled at each other. ¡°YEP!¡± They both shouted in unison. As Umashiro was preparing the ingredients, Doriama began talking to Raion. ¡°Since you¡¯re quite new to this mark giving thing let me explain the procedure on how this works. Each clan has their own ritual of giving their mark to their new members. So members go through a trial, others complete task, some even isolate themselves for months to get it. It all depends on the clan¡¯s leader. For us, we drink a special mixture which sets your body in a state for me to pass my mark to you.¡± Raion thought about it for a second and brought up a point he remembered. ¡°But you said it¡¯d be like two weeks for me to get this mark.¡± Doriama laughed. ¡°Yeah it¡¯s supposed to be two weeks of drinking. The drink is strong and you¡¯re body has to get accustomed to the changes.¡± ¡°Wait...¡± Doriama patted Raion on the shoulders. ¡°That¡¯s right we¡¯re going to fit two weeks of drinking in three days.¡± Raion¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Hold up...I¡¯m not really a good drinker...¡± Doriama wrapped his arms around Raion¡¯s neck. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, after these two nights, you will be.¡± Raion¡¯s face was in anguish from the thought of it. ¡°Aww shit...¡± END Chapter 8: Motives All the farmers and villagers gathered towards the small pub. Everyone was bringing food from their harvest and other forms of different entertainment for the party that was to come later tonight. They decorated the streets in lights and had music playing. ¡°Wait, so how much is a usually day¡¯s worth of drinking?¡± Raion asked nervously as he saw Umashiro and Doriama preparing all the ingredients for the drinks. The farmers and villagers kept bringing in barrels and barrels of ingredients into the pub. Umashiro was at the front keeping track of all the items that were brought into the pub. Doriama stood by Raion and smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s see...one day of drinking is about...¡± Doriama counted the barrels, ¡°about...three¡± ¡°Three barrels? Thank god.¡± Raion sighed in relief. ¡°...hundred.¡± Doriama chuckled. ¡°Th-three...hundred...?¡± Raion¡¯s life flashed before his eyes. He stared at Doriama with a deathly expression. ¡°I¡¯m going to die, aren¡¯t I?¡± Doriama laughed and patted Raion on the back strongly. ¡°Don¡¯t over exaggerated Raion, obviously the three hundred is also going to be shared with all the villagers and farmers here too.¡± ¡°Oh...¡± ¡°But out of the three hundred barrels. You are responsible for drinking five of them.¡± ¡°Five?¡± Raion looked at barrels and thought about it. ¡°Well that¡¯s not too ba...AAH.¡± Raion looked at Doriama again. ¡°If I have to drink five a day, and we¡¯re trying to squeeze two weeks worth into two days then...that¡¯s s-seventy barrels or...th-thirty-five barrels a day?¡± ¡°Sounds about right.¡± Doriama smiled. ¡°I¡¯m dead, I¡¯m dead, I¡¯m dead...¡± Raion kept muttering to himself over and over again, ¡°Is he going to be alright?¡± Umashiro whispered towards Doriama. Doriama looked at Raion, then back at Umashiro. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure he¡¯ll do fine...¡± Doriama looked back at Raion once more only to find him huddled into a corner. ¡°...I think.¡±This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Everyone started finishing up their preparations for the party. As the townsfolk gathered towards the pub, Doriama stepped forward to make a toast. ¡°Uhhh well.¡± Doriama looked towards the crowd with a mug in his hand. ¡°It¡¯s been awhile hasn¡¯t it everyone?¡± Laughter was heard throughout the crowd. ¡°Get straight to the point Doriama!¡± ¡°We¡¯ve waited long enough!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s get to it!¡± Doriama laughed. ¡°Y¡¯all know me too well. Let me make this short.¡± Doriama raised his glass. ¡°I¡¯m back, so you all know what that means.¡± Doriama chugged down his drink. ¡°It¡¯s time for us to take back what¡¯s ours!¡± Yells. Shouts. Cheers. Laughter. Everyone started celebrating. There was dancing, singing, music being played and tons of food were available to eat. ¡°Wow...¡± Raion took in the scenery before him. ¡°This is amazing.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t?!¡± Doriama smiled and handed Raion a glass. ¡°Well, it¡¯s time to get started on your part.¡± ¡°Ughh....¡± Raion had a pale face on him. Three hours passed and the party was still lively as ever. Raion on the other hand passed out on his thirtieth barrel. ¡°He hung in there pretty well.¡± Doriama laughed. Umashiro turned towards Doriama, ¡°So what made you do this boss, you said you¡¯d not return for another five years.¡± Doriama took a sip of his drink, ¡°It¡¯s just a hunch with this one, it¡¯d be interesting.¡± ¡°You were always doing such irrational things. Last time you did something on that whim of yours...¡± Umashiro put his drink down and looked at Doriama. ¡°You know boss, it¡¯s going to be hard to recover from our set back, most of our members joined other clans.¡± Doriama looked at the townsfolk still partying and enjoying themselves under the moonlight. ¡°Umashiro, look at this. This is what I really want, not that big fancy stuff, quantity over quality.¡± Doriama smiled. ¡°Yeah, but we lost quality too.¡± Umashiro shook his head. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, as long as we have our core, our foundation, we can always rebuild.¡± Doriama pointed back at Raion, ¡°We also have a new addition here too, I¡¯m pretty sure things will work out.¡± Umashiro laughed and nodded. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± He took another sip of his drink. ¡°So how are you going to get them to let you in this tournament. You know they¡¯re not going to just let you waltz in and join right?¡± Doriama had a smirk on his face. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Umashiro, I¡¯m still a member of the Zodiac, even if I was exiled, it still doesn¡¯t mean that I lost my footing there.¡± Doriama poured himself some more to drink. Umashiro and Doriama touched glasses and chugged down their drinks. ¡°So who is this Raion though. He doesn¡¯t look all that special to me.¡± Umashiro played around with his glass before pouring himself some more and drinking it. ¡°Well for starters he uses the Beast Kenpo...¡± Umashiro spit out his drink on Doriama¡¯s face. ¡°Beast Kenpo?!¡± Umashiro stood up from his seat and looked at Raion before slowing sitting back down in his seat again. ¡°That must mean...¡± Doriama wiped the residue off his face and nodded. ¡°There¡¯s only one person I know who uses it, and that person was supposed to be dead a long time ago.¡± Doriama took another sip. ¡°So there¡¯s a lot of mysteries surrounding this guy.¡± Umashiro placed his hand under his chin. ¡°You really did pick up someone interesting...¡± ¡°Right?!¡± Doriama let out a hearty laugh. ¡°I¡¯m excited for the future Umashiro. I haven¡¯t felt this way in a while.¡± Seeing Doriama this way, Umashiro couldn¡¯t help but smile at the scene. Umashiro raised his glass towards Doriama. ¡°Glad to have you back boss.¡± Doriama touched glasses with Umashiro once again. ¡°Glad to be back.¡± END Chapter 9: Compatibility After the first day was done, Raion was hauled off to bed. Doriama and Umashiro took that time to rest also. ¡°Wake up Raion!¡± Doriama busted through the door and dragged Raion out of bed. ¡°Ughh...¡± Raion¡¯s face was pale from last night. ¡°Where are we going?¡± ¡°Where else?¡± In the far distance Raion could hear music playing and loud shouting. ¡°Oh no...¡± Raion¡¯s body was writhed with pain. The second day of drinking began. It was full of excitement and fun just like last night. There were more people involved and the celebration was bigger. Another three hours passed and Raion was left passed out again after finishing the fortieth barrell. ¡°Ohh...I didn¡¯t think he¡¯d actually finish it.¡± Umashiro sipped his drink. Doriama sat back in his chair and took a sip of his drink. ¡°Same. The boy has heart, I¡¯ll give him that, but the hard part starts tomorrow.¡± ¡°Mhmm.¡± Umashiro and Doriama touched glasses and chugged their drink down before retiring back into their rooms for the night. Morning came around. Doriama, Umashiro and Raion were out in the fields getting ready to begin the transferring of the mark. ¡°Alright so to recap all those drinks you had the last two nights were to prepare you blood and energy for the invasion of energy. Your body now has the necessary ingredients in it to be able to take in my energy, however, your body hasn¡¯t had the time to properly absorb the ingredients into your system. So be prepared for some excruciating pain.¡± Doriama looked at Raion with a serious face.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Also once we begin, we can¡¯t stop. If we stop, you¡¯ll have to wait another week for me to do the transfer again, but by that time the tournament will be over. So are you prepared for this?¡± Raion took a deep breath. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Alright let¡¯s get started then.¡± Raion sat down first. Doriama sat behind Raion and placed his hands on Raion¡¯s back. The processes of transferring energy had begun. A light slowly formed around the two. Raion¡¯s body started to grow hot. An intense flash of pain kept coming and going. At first it would come every now and then, but slowly the pain came in faster and faster. It reached a point where Raion¡¯s body was engulfed in pain and heat. Raion¡¯s energy started to waver. ¡°This isn¡¯t good Doriama.¡± Umashiro looked at Raion¡¯s condition. ¡°Tsk, not only is his body not fully conditioned for this, but it looks like his energy isn¡¯t compatible with the Rooster¡¯s Mark.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t stop.¡± Raion was able to murmur those words. ¡°Kid, you¡¯re going to die if this keeps going.¡± Umashiro interjected as he walked towards the two. ¡°It doesn¡¯t look good, I¡¯m going to stop this Doriama.¡± Raion¡¯s energy fluctuated rapidly before becoming stable again. ¡°Don¡¯t.¡± Raion¡¯s eyes were intense, he had made his resolve and was not budging from his decision. Umashiro looked at Doriama. ¡°Boss...¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, he¡¯ll make it.¡± Umashiro sighed and continued to watch over them. Five hours have passed since they started. Raion was showing visible signs of suffering major damage. ¡°..gh..¡± ¡°What was that Raion?¡± Umashiro moved closer. Raion couldn¡¯t hold it back anymore. Blood slowly spilled from his mouth. ¡°BOSS!¡± Umashiro shouted. He reached in to pull Raion away from Doriama. ¡°Stop Umashiro!¡± Doriama shouted. ¡°Don¡¯t pull him away, we¡¯re almost done. Get in here and balance out the energy with yours. This is the final stretch.¡± Umashiro nodded and sat in front of Raion. He placed both his hands in front of Raion¡¯s chest. Slowly the light surrounding the two eventually engulfed all three of them. Raion¡¯s condition was getting worse, he kept coughing up blood. Doriama and Umashiro both exerted an enormous amount of energy to help keep Raion¡¯s fluctuating energy in check. After an excruciating amount of time, the mark properly form on Raion¡¯s chest over his heart. Both Doriama and Umashiro stopped channeling their energy to regain their composure. Raion passed out and fell on the ground. ¡°That was dangerous boss, any longer and he could¡¯ve lost his life there.¡± Umashiro picked up Raion and threw him over his shoulders. ¡°But he didn¡¯t though.¡± Doriama had a smirk on his face. ¡°If he couldn¡¯t pass this than the tournament would be impossible for him.¡± ¡°But...the mark isn¡¯t compatible with his energy.¡± Umashiro had a disheartened look on his face. ¡°All that trouble only to be gifted with a curse instead.¡± ¡°Nothing to fret Umashiro, even curses can be turned into a gift in due time.¡± Doriama stretched his limbs and yawned. ¡°Now time to get to rest, the real thing starts tomorrow.¡± ¡°That¡¯s if he wakes up.¡± Umashiro eyed towards Raion. ¡°Don¡¯t worry we¡¯ll get C-Collette to watch over him.¡± Umashiro¡¯s face suddenly turned pale. ¡°A-are you sure...?¡± END Chapter 10: Combat Ready Raion¡¯s eyes slowly opened. His body felt heavy and his breathing was irregular. His eyes widened to see a young woman grinding up some leaves and herbs. ¡°Where am I?¡± Raion mumbled as he slowly tried to get up. ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡± The young woman turned around. She had short purple hair. Her charm point was her long legs. She had one of the crossed over the other. She was wearing a long white lab coat. Raion laid back down on his back. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°Collette.¡± She started preparing the medicine. The concoction she was mixing up was green and purple with a really pungent stench being emitted from the bowl. ¡°Uhh...what are you going to with that?¡± Raion¡¯s face was pale with anticipation. ¡°This? Oh don¡¯t worry too much about it.¡± Collette took out a big spoon and made her way towards Raion. ¡°Please don¡¯t...¡± ¡°Open wide.¡± From the outside of the room, a loud scream was heard then came silence. Collette opened the door and made her way outside towards Doriama and Umashiro. ¡°Will he be ready by this evening?¡± Doriama paced back and forth. ¡°Mhmm, it¡¯ll be better if he rests for a whole day, but yes his body will be ready for this evening.¡± ¡°Good.¡±Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Raion woke up once again in the same room. ¡°Damn, I feel like I¡¯ve just been through hell twice and back.¡± He slowly got up from the bed and felt his body lighter than ever. He felt around his body to see if there was anything out of the ordinary. He looked down at his chest and saw the Rooster¡¯s Mark. ¡°So this is it...¡± He moved his arms and legs off the bed and did some stretches to get his limbs warmed up. ¡°Mhm, I¡¯m feeling a lot better now.¡± Doriama opened the door and walked into the room to see Raion stretching. ¡°Good to see you up, let¡¯s get started.¡± ¡°What. So soon?¡± ¡°Yep we don¡¯t have time to waste.¡± Doriama and Raion went out towards the open fields. Umashiro was already there waiting for them. ¡°Alright Raion,¡± Doriama stood in front of him. ¡°There¡¯s good news and bad news. The good news is you have successfully gotten the mark. Bad news is, it¡¯s not compatible with you.¡± ¡°So what does that exactly mean?¡± Raion looked confused. ¡°It¡¯s like uhh....Umashiro you explain it.¡± Umashiro sighed. ¡°Well, your body or vessel is able to hold energy. Normally the more you train your body the more energy your body can hold. What a compatible mark does, is it allows the body to bypass its limit and exert more energy than it can hold. Now, an incompatible mark eats away at your energy.¡± Raion had a dumbfounded look on his face. ¡°For example think of your body like a glass of water. The glass is your body and the water is your energy. The more you train the bigger the glass gets and the more water it holds. Now with the compatible mark, you¡¯re essentially adding an extension to your glass making you hold more water for a limited time. Now with that same visual, an incompatible mark pretty much cuts your glass in half.¡± ¡°Wait so you¡¯re saying I¡¯ve lost half of my energy?¡± ¡°Not necessarily. You still have the same amount of energy, but you lose it twice as fast, meaning you can¡¯t sustain your energy for a long period of time. So let¡¯s say before you can use your energy at 100% for twenty minutes. Now with the incompatible mark, you can only use your energy at 100% for ten minutes now. On the other hand a compatible mark will boost your energy at 150% or even 200% for ten minutes, depending on how compatible you are with the mark.¡± ¡°So that means...¡± Doriama stepped in. ¡°That means right off the bat you have a handicap going into the tournament Raion.¡± Raion sighed. ¡°Things don¡¯t come easy huh¡± Doriama laughed. ¡°Nope, but we¡¯re here to teach you how to handle your incompatible mark. It¡¯s not always a bad thing you know.¡± Raion tilted his head. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Well, an incompatible mark teaches you how to sustain your energy for a longer period of time. You¡¯ll be able to fully control your energy and not have any wasted output.¡± Raion started stretching again. ¡°Well no time to be depressed, let¡¯s do this.¡± Doriama smiled. ¡°Good let¡¯s begin.¡± END Chapter 11: Arrival ¡°You think he¡¯s ready?¡± Umashiro was waiting in the pub. ¡°Well...¡± Doriama had a nervous look on his face. Raion came stumbling into the pub as exhausted as ever. ¡°Is he going to be alright???¡± Umashiro was concerned for Raion¡¯s well being. ¡°You know you¡¯ve been pushing him really hard since the start right? Normally you¡¯d wait a year, why rush this? Why do you have to attend this tournament?¡± It was a question even Doriama wanted answered. Doriama turned and looked at Raion to see what his response was. ¡°It¡¯s pretty selfish actually, I just don¡¯t want to wait. Why put something off for tomorrow when you can do it today. That sort of thing.¡± Raion made his way to the counter to lean on it for support. Umashiro sighed. ¡°I understand where you¡¯re coming from, but this is reckless.¡± Raion laughed. ¡°Yeah...but it¡¯s something I¡¯m use to. I guess just being reckless was a bad habit I picked up from my master.¡± Umashiro and Doriama were intrigued to who this master was, but it was something they¡¯d find out later. ¡°Well Raion, get yourself readied up, we¡¯re heading going to be traveling to the tournament location in a bit.¡± Raion let out an exhausted sigh and nodded as he made his way back to his room to prepare. After a short while Doriama and Raion were all packed up and were at the edge of town. Umashiro and Collette were there to see them off. Collette had brought medicine for Raion to apply to his body since it wasn¡¯t fully healed yet and Umashiro shared a glass with Doriama before Doriama and Raion both headed off.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Collette turned to Umashiro. ¡°So how do you think he¡¯ll do?¡± ¡°I think...he¡¯ll have a 25% chance of winning the whole thing.¡± ¡°Ohhh, those are some good odds. What makes you say that?¡± ¡°Well for starters, he completed everything we told him to do. He accomplished in three days, what a normal candidate would¡¯ve taken at least a month to accomplish. He even took your medicine and still had the energy to train on the same day.¡± Collette laughed. ¡°Well you got that right. Also, as I examined his body,¡± Collette had a serious look on her face, ¡°it¡¯s not normal, that sort of body isn¡¯t something that was built in the course of a year or so. It was meticulously trained and developed for a purpose.¡± ¡°Purpose? What kind of purpose?¡± ¡°Mhmm. If I had to put my finger on it, it¡¯d be to kill.¡± * * * Doriama and Raion traveled for a day before reaching the tournament grounds in the afternoon. It¡¯s been roughly 6 days since Raion started preparing for the tournament and now all the challenges he will face will begin tomorrow. Doriama and Raion took this time to walk around the city that was hosting the tournament. Before they entered, Doriama wore a hooded cloak that Umashiro gave him and handed one to Raion also. This way no one could tell who they were when they walked around the city. The city was called Helrium. One of Noah¡¯s Ark oldest and biggest cities. It was one of the places for commerce and entertainment. Always had people full of energy out and about going on with their daily lives. The city had a good mix of rich and middle class citizens, the poor were few in numbers. It was a city that boasted its economic prowess and because of that, it was always a lively place. ¡°Wow I¡¯ve never been to a city so big before.¡± Raion was pleasantly surprised at the mood of the city. There were so many shops that he hadn¡¯t seen before. ¡°Yep, it¡¯s a great place to be in if you like places that are busy. There¡¯s never a quiet, dull moment here.¡± Doriama looked around to see if there was anyone who caught on to their disguise. They walked around town, stopped by food stalls and checked out street entertainment before heading towards the Colosseum that was going to be holding the tournament. It was right in the middle of town and was the biggest structure Raion has ever seen. ¡°Wow...let¡¯s go in! I¡¯m dying to see what it looks like inside.¡± As Raion approached the gates towards the Colosseum, Doriama grabbed Raion¡¯s cloak and pulled him back. ¡°Not so fast. Patience, we¡¯ll make our move tomorrow.¡± Doriama dragged Raion back towards town again. ¡°Awwww,¡± Raion had a depressed look on his face, ¡°well what¡¯s your plan anyways?¡± ¡°Mhmm, simple, just walk through the front gate.¡± ¡°...really?¡± ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t sweat the small stuff. Get some rest tonight, you¡¯ll need it tomorrow.¡±
Zodiac Tournament Begins Tomorrow
END Chapter 12: Surprise Finally the day of the tournament had arrived. Helrium was more lively than ever with tons of people crowding on the streets. ¡°Come here and place your bets!¡± Sounds of the crowd echoed throughout the entire town. It was sight to behold. Doriama and Raion blended into the crowd with their cloaks and entered into the Colosseum. The entire Colosseum was filled. Not an empty seat was seen, the whole place was crowded. As the place was getting situated a man appeared from the center of the ring. ¡°Esteemed guests! Welcome to the annual [Zodiac Tournament]! I will be your Master of Ceremonies for this tournament Mourno!¡± The place erupted in cheers. ¡°I¡¯m sure I don¡¯t need to go explaining the format, but just in case there are any new comers out there, I¡¯ll be kind and give you the rundown. This tournament consists of 12 chosen candidates that were picked by their respective Zodiac Clan Leaders. The first part of the tournament are the three man battle royales. The twelve candidates will be split into four groups of threes and battle it out. The winners of those group battles will go on and be paired into a single elimination bracket until there is only one winner. The winner of course will get a Spirit Animal Egg and their Zodiac Clan will be granted one wish.¡± The crowd cheered as Mourno kept on going. ¡°Now will the Twelve Zodiac Clan Leaders please show yourself!¡± Around the Colosseum were twelve evenly spaced out thrones that perfectly circled the arena. From the back came out the leaders to sit on their thrones. In order, first came out the Rat then Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Dog and Pig. The Rooster was of course absent. Beside each leader was their candidate. The crowd again erupted in cheers as they saw the clan members. Each person in the crowd shouting for their favorite leaders. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°Oii Doriama, what are you going to do? They¡¯re going to start this without you.¡± ¡°Just wait a bit Raion, patience my friend.¡± Mourno brought out a lottery spinner containing balls with each candidate written in each ball. He continued on. ¡°Now the moment you¡¯ve all been waiting for, it¡¯s time to see what the matchups will be! Starting with group one...¡± Mourno started spinning the lottery basket. The first ball popped out. ¡°Let¡¯s see the first candidate in group one is from the...SNAKE CLANN!!!!!¡± The crowd cheered as Mourno spun the basket again. ¡°The second candidate to join in is from the...RAT CLANNN!¡± Mourno spun it again. ¡°The last candidate to join in is from the...RABBIT CLANN!!!¡± The crowd cheered loudly. ¡°Huh, you know Doriama when it comes to nature, doesn¡¯t the Snake candidate have a huge advantage over the over two?¡± ¡°Hahaha, I understand where you¡¯re coming from, but don¡¯t worry there¡¯s no advantages or disadvantages here.¡± Mourno continued on with the lottery and the other three groups were decided in the same fashion. ¡°THE MATCH UPS HAVE FOR THE TOURNAMENT HAVE FINALLY BEEN DECIDED! The matchups to come are as follows¡±
Group One: Snake Rat Rabbit
Group Two: Dragon Tiger Horse
Group Three: Dog Pig Monkey
Group Four: Ox Goat Rooster
¡°Unfortunately in Group Four the Rooster Candidate will not be available so Group Four will only have two candidates fighting in it.¡± The crowd booed loudly. ¡°Please be assured the rest of the match will continue as intended. Each match will surely entertain you!¡± Raion turned to Doriama. ¡°Oi, Doriama, when are you going to make your move?¡± Doriama patted Raion on the back. ¡°Right about now.¡± ¡°What are you gonna dooOOOOOO???¡± Doriama grabbed Raion and tossed him into the center of the arena. Raion landed face first causing a loud thud. Mourno stood over Raion. ¡°Who are you? Do you know what you¡¯re doing?¡± Raion slowly got to his feet, stumbling slightly. ¡°Uh...¡± ¡°Well?!¡± The crowd was getting loud. They booed heavily. ¡°Are you not going to say anything?!¡± Slowly, the crowd¡¯s antics were turned up a notch. Mourno looked around to see what was causing the uproar. He was shocked to see that the empty Rooster Throne was now occupied by a cloaked figure. ¡°BLASPHEMY! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU¡¯RE DOING?¡± ¡°Calm down Mourno.¡± The man took off his cloak. ¡°D-DORIAMA???¡± END Chapter 13: Confrontation The crowd unanimously gasped at the situation. The other clan members of the Zodiac were surprised at the appearance of Doriama. ¡°Doriama?¡± ¡°How...¡± ¡°Weren¡¯t those god damn Dogs watching over him?¡± ¡°They got some explaining to do.¡± ¡°How dare he show his face.¡± Lots of murmurs spread throughout the arena. The leader of the Snake Clan stood up. She had medium length gray hair with red streaks in them. Her eyes were gold and bright. Her outfit was revealing as she wore a bikini underneath her chest chain mail. She wore long armored boots that covered her whole legs. ¡°Doriama, you have some nerve showing up here. How dare you show your face in front of us all again.¡± The crowd started murmuring amongst themselves. ¡°Now now Hebina, I was only exiled, I wasn¡¯t actually removed from my seat in the Zodiacs which means I have every right to participate in this tournament.¡± Hebina turned her attention towards the leader of the Dog Clan. His hair was short and white. His eyes were blue as the ice. He wore black dress pants with a white dress shirt. He wore a black dress vest over his white shirt and had a black tie underneath it. He wore black gloves with his outfit. ¡°Inusuke weren¡¯t you supposed to keep him in check?¡± Inusuke crossed one leg over the other as he rested his chin on his hand. ¡°I guess you can say I let him go a week or two early because of his good behavior.¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°You bastard, I thought you were supposed to be an obedient little dog.¡± ¡°Watch your tongue Hebina, or I¡¯ll rip it from your mouth.¡± ¡°What was that you mutt?¡± ¡°Enough!¡± The leader of the Dragon Clan stood up. She had long pinkish-blonde hair. Her eyes were crimson red. She wore light armor, a mini skirt and had long gloves that reached up passed her elbow. ¡°Doriama, you know what you¡¯re doing right?¡± ¡°Of course Kyari.¡± She let out a sigh. ¡°Alright...Doriama and his candidate are allowed to compete.¡± ¡°Kyari!¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay Hebina, if he loses, his punishment will be far worst than just another exile.¡± ¡°Yeah Hebina, what are you, scared that you¡¯re not going to win?¡± ¡°Watch yourself Doriama. Don¡¯t think for a second you¡¯ll be forgiven.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting to be forgiven.¡± After hearing the news the crowd started erupting in cheers and boos. It was a mixed feeling having Doriama and Raion involved in the competition, but one things for sure, the crowd will be getting what they want, a bloodbath. Raion made his way up to Doriama¡¯s throne and stood by him. ¡°Is this alright?¡± ¡°Of course, just win.¡± ¡°Hah...¡± ¡°This will be good, since you¡¯re in Group Four you¡¯ll have a good idea of what you¡¯ll be going up against.¡± ¡°Yeah I can¡¯t wait to see them in action.¡± ¡°Haha I like the enthusiasm, hopefully you can keep it up till the end.¡± Mourno raised his arms in the air. ¡°Alright! With that settled Group Four will include the candidate from the Rooster Clan! Enough of the delay let¡¯s get this tournament started! Will the members of Group One make their way down to the arena.¡± ¡°You better win or else.¡± ¡°Yes Hebina.¡± The candidate for the Snake Clan went down to the arena alongside with the candidates of the Rat and Rabbit Clan. ¡°Hooh you¡¯re representing the Snake Clan, Cogra?¡± ¡°Yeah, kiss the Rat Clan¡¯s chances and your chances goodbye Mao.¡± ¡°Woah let¡¯s not forget about me guys.¡± ¡°Yare, you¡¯re not even worth mentioning.¡± ¡°Rude...¡± ¡°Alright! I¡¯ll quickly brief the contestants on the rules of this Battle Royale. If you get knocked out of the ring, you¡¯re disqualified. Other than that, whoever is the last person standing wins. Killing is absolutely forbidden and you will be stopped. Everyone ready?¡± All three candidates nodded. ¡°Let the battle begin!¡± END Chapter 14: Battle Royale Cogra, Mao and Yare all carefully watched each other to see who would make the first move. After what seemed to be a few minutes Mao and Yare nodded towards each other and rushed towards Cogra. ¡°Haha, of course the prey would gather to take down the true predator here.¡± Cogra had short brown dreads. He parried the attacks of the two with his long slim arms and easily handled their continued onslaught. ¡°Hey both of you, do you feel like actually trying now or am I going to have to end this quickly?¡± The both of them backed off and regained their composure. ¡°We were just warming up Cogra, the main course will begin shortly.¡± Both Mao and Yare paused for a bit as they started gathering their energy. Both of their clan marks seemed to be glowing from their bodies. As more energy was being gathered, the brighter the marks shined. ¡°Spirit Equip! Mouse!¡± Mao shouted. ¡°Spirit Equip! Hare!¡± Yare shouted. Both of them transformed into a half animal half human form. Mao had characteristics of a mouse. His body received a mouse-like tail and his face had whiskers. The same went for Yare. His body obtained hare-like qualities. ¡°Looking good both of you, but you¡¯re still nothing but prey, let me show you what a real predator looks like.¡± Cogra started channeling his energy like the both of them. He stuck out his long tongue which had the mark of the Snake on it. The mark shined brighter than both Mao and Yare. The brightness of the mark goes to show how compatible their energy is with the clan leader¡¯s. The brighter the mark the more the person is able to make use of the energy. ¡°Spirit Equip! King Cobra!¡± Cogra shouted. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. His body started forming scales as his body became an actual King Cobra that was 3x larger than the other competitors. Spirit Equipping can lead to three forms. The most common form during the transformation was the half animal half human form where the body has characteristics of the animal they equip with. The not so common form was the animal form where the body becomes the animal itself. Usually people tend to stay away from going into full animal form because people tend to have a hard time fully controlling their bodies in the animal state. Another downside was because some of the animals¡¯ bodies proved to be more of a disadvantage than an advantage. The final form which only comes from full mastery of the Spirit Equip or amazing compatibility with the Spirit Animal itself has the person wearing the animal¡¯s qualities or characteristics as clothing or accessories. The body itself isn¡¯t drastically altered. There were only minor changes to the body. With Cogra going into full animal form it could only mean two things. One he was completely disrespecting the other two in saying he doesn¡¯t need to be in his most comfortable state to beat them, or it could be that he has actual full control of his animal form. ¡°Bastard! Are you taking us lightly?¡± Yare yelled in anger. Both Yare and Mao jumped in with their new strength. They ferociously attacked Cogra constantly not giving him a chance to breathe or so it seemed. Cogra wasn¡¯t phased, it almost seemed like he was patiently waiting for his opportunity. As Mao and Yare kept attacking, however as time went on, they slowly showed signs of being tired out. Their attacks started to become sloppy and that¡¯s when Cogra struck. His long tail quickly wrapped around both of them and he began constricting them with a tight grip. ¡°Ughhhg.¡± ¡°Ahh!¡± As Cogra slowly wrapped his body around them tighter and tighter his head slowly made its way towards them. ¡°You¡¯re lucky we¡¯re in the tournament, or else I would¡¯ve bitten both of your f*cking heads off.¡± ¡°Y-you bastard...¡± ¡°We¡¯ll remember this...¡± ¡°Oh please do.¡± Both Mao and Yare passed out. That would¡¯ve been the end, but Cogra wanted to add insult to injury so he tossed their bodies out of the ring showing a complete dominance over the two. Cogra transformed back to his human form and Mourno raised Cogra¡¯s hand for the victory. ¡°ANDDDD OUR WINNER OF GROUP ONE IS COGRA!!!!!!¡± Cogra smirked and headed back to Hebina. ¡°Good job Cogra.¡± ¡°Of course, who do you think I am?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t get to cocky.¡± ¡°Tsk, what¡¯s got you riled up? Oh I know is it because of Doriama?¡± By the time Cogra finished his sentence, Hebina already had a blade positioned under his neck. ¡°Watch yourself Cogra. ¡°Kch...alright I get it.¡± Both Mao and Yare were brought out of the arena to get medical attention. Mourno went back to the arena and started speaking. ¡°Group One ended with the Snake Clan¡¯s overwhelming victory. Let¡¯s hope Group Two gives us more of a fight. Will the candidates for the Dragon, Tiger and Horse clan come down to the arena!¡± Doriama motioned Raion close to him. ¡°What were your thoughts on the first match Raion?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know people could transform like that, good to know beforehand, that would¡¯ve caught me off guard.¡± ¡°Good, good. Now pay attention to this next round. All three of these candidates are considered to be next in line of for their respective thrones.¡± END Chapter 15: Battle Royale 2 The candidates for the Dragon, Tiger and Horse clan made their way down towards the arena. The candidate for Dragon Clan was a girl with short pink hair. Her hair was tied into two buns. Her wore silver plated light armor. The candidate for the Tiger Clan was a guy who had short black hair. He was topless, but had ripped shorts. The candidate for the Horse Clan was also a girl who had long brown hair. She had a maid outfit on. ¡°So the Dragon Clan sent out you Riri?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right Pantero, was the Tiger Clan short on members so they sent you out?¡± ¡°Really funny, you know damn well how strong I am.¡± ¡°No I don¡¯t actually, enlighten me will you?¡± ¡°Always with the jokes. What does Dragon Clan want with the prize that they were willing to send you out Riri?¡± ¡°Sorry, I can¡¯t disclose that with you, but if you¡¯re willing to give up, I¡¯ll give you a pat on the back later.¡± ¡°That¡¯s it? I¡¯d prefer spending some time with you instead.¡± ¡°Ugh, don¡¯t make me throw up.¡± Pantero shook his head. ¡°Stella, you¡¯re awfully quiet right now.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Not a talker?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°What a bummer.¡± Mourno stepped in. ¡°A-are all the contestants ready?¡± All three of them nodded. ¡°Let the Group Two battles begin!¡± Without hesitation, Riri and Pantero charged at each other first. Pantero threw the first punch towards Riri¡¯s face. She dodged Pantero¡¯s first punch and threw quick two punches of her own towards his chest. The punches landed and caused Pantero to fall back slightly.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°You got faster Riri.¡± ¡°More like you got slower Pantero.¡± The both of them engaged in battle again. Riri started moving faster than before. He threw another quick punch. Pantero anticipated the punch and grabbed it. ¡°This¡¯ll hurt me more than it¡¯ll hurt you Riri.¡± Pantero smirked and started kneeing Riri in the gut repeatedly. The knee sent her off her feet and into the air, but his grip kept her close to him as he brought her down again for another knee to the gut. He kept doing this over and over again. ¡°Give up Riri?¡± Riri¡¯s body was on the ground almost lifeless. ¡°Well I guess that¡¯s tha-¡± ¡°Not bad Pantero...¡± Pantero instinctively let go of her hand and backed off. ¡°Why¡¯d you let me go? Afraid of commitment?¡± ¡°Funny joke Riri, you¡¯re holding back.¡± She got up and brushed herself off. Her expression that was writhed in pain before, suddenly became calm and collected. She jumped in midair towards Pantero and did a spinning overhead axe kick. Pantero was able to put both his arms up in time to block the kick, but the force was much stronger than he anticipated. The kick broke his block and nailed him in the head causing him to crash into the arena stage with a destructive force. Cracks formed in the arena from the impact. Riri slowly turned her attention towards Stella. ¡°After seeing what I did to Pantero, do you still want to fight Stella?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Always the talkative one aren¡¯t you.¡± Riri made her way towards Stella. Pantero who was on the ground reached out and grabbed her ankle. ¡°You¡¯re still conscious? I¡¯m impressed.¡± ¡°You underestimate me Riri.¡± She stomped on his hand. ¡°Let go fool before I break it.¡± She stomped on it with a greater force, but he didn¡¯t budge. ¡°Is your pride causing you to act so foolishly?¡± ¡°Come on, how can I go out without a bang?¡± She tried to pull away, but his grip was strong. ¡°Spirit Equip! Panther!¡± Pantero was quickly able to land a punch on Riri¡¯s face causing her to fly across the ring. When the dust finally settled, Pantero¡¯s body wasn¡¯t altered a great deal besides growing a tail, but instead he was wearing Panther-like equipment, the most notables were his bonetooth necklace and claw gauntlets. ¡°A near perfect synchronization it seems.¡± Riri murmured under her breath. She slowly got up from his blow. ¡°I¡¯ll give you the first victory, making me have to go into my form so quickly, now get into yours so I can win this thing already.¡± She cracked her neck and stretched abit. ¡°Don¡¯t cry when you get hurt, you asked for this. Spirit Equip! White Dragon!¡± Her back slowly grew wings as her equipment started to turn into that of a dragon¡¯s. Her light armor had beautiful dragon scales on them now while she gained dragon claws for her boots and gloves. Her body slowly lifted off the ground as her wings started flapping. ¡°The only way you two can beat me now is if you knock me unconscious. Though, knowing what I know about both of your forms, that¡¯d be a herculean task since none of you can fly.¡± She laughed and soared through the sky showing off her ability of flight. Pantero showed an unamused face and looked towards Stella. ¡°Stella, are you seriously not going to do anything here?¡± ¡°...¡± In a blink of an eye, Stella¡¯s form also changed to that of a Full Mastery Equip. She grew a white horse tail and had equipment that resembled her spirit animal. She quickly made her way towards Pantero. She jump and used his face as a launch to get higher into the air towards Riri. She got close to her, but Riri moved to the side with her wings. ¡°Come on Stella, you know horses can¡¯t fly. Good attempt though. You got pretty high.¡± Riri laughed. ¡°...air stampede.¡± Stella kicked her foot in the opposite direction of Riri at such a velocity that it propelled her towards Riri. It was almost as if she had just kicked off of an air wall. Shocked and caught off guard Riri didn¡¯t have time to block Stella¡¯s roundhouse kick that sent her flying back down, crashing into the arena. Stella could be heard saying some words as she descended down from the sky. ¡°Horses can¡¯t fly, but a Pegasus can.¡± END Chapter 16: Battle Royale 3 ¡°Pegasus?¡± The entire crowd was in an uproar. ¡°Did she just say Pegasus?¡± ¡°Holy shit.¡± ¡°This is awesome.¡± ¡°No fucking way.¡± Even most of the Zodiac members were in awe of this announcement. Some of them were out of their seats. Raion looked around in confusion. ¡°What¡¯s going on Doriama?¡± ¡°It seems her spirit animal is the Pegasus.¡± ¡°It¡¯s that a bad thing?¡± ¡°Quite the opposite, it¡¯s a mythical beast. One of the rarest spirits that you can have.¡± Down in the arena, Pantero and Riri were shocked. ¡°Stella, you were hiding something fucking huge.¡± Pantero snickered. ¡°You¡¯ll regret making me look like a fool and taking the spotlight away from me Stella.¡± Riri dusted herself off. The three of them were in another staredown. The power and momentum had shifted towards Stella now. Both Riri and Pantero knew this. They were in a difficult situation. Do they put away their differences and team up? Or continue to fight each other when there was a bigger threat to worry about. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Riri didn¡¯t hesitate and attacked Stella. Pantero took advantage of Riri¡¯s tunnel vision on Stella and took a cheap shot at Riri¡¯s side while she was charging head first at Stella. Riri was too busy focusing on Stella that she didn¡¯t see Pantero¡¯s attack coming and was blind sided. His attack knocked her straight out of the arena. As she was falling to the ground, her wings were able to save her. She flew back up into the air before hitting the ground. ¡°Pantero, you coward.¡± ¡°Hey it was worth a shot.¡± Riri flew up high and started gathering up her energy. ¡°Both of you are dead.¡± ¡°Wait you¡¯re not allowed to ki-¡± ¡°Dragon¡¯s breath!¡± Riri unleashed a powerful beam from her mouth down to the arena. Pantero and Stella dodged the blast, but Riri kept shooting out the beam from her mouth and aimed it towards Pantero. He ran around the arena, but the arena was breaking apart due to the blast so it was hard to keep a stable footing on the ground. ¡°You crazy bitch.¡± As Riri was focused on Pantero, Stella kicked the air multiple times to climb up to Riri¡¯s height. Riri stopped her beam. ¡°Not this time Stella.¡± She shot her beam at Stella in mid air, but Stella was too quick and dodged around the beam and began kicking Riri. ¡°...air rodeo¡± Riri had to put up her guard, but Stella¡¯s attacks kept getting fierer and her kicks were getting heavier. Riri¡¯s guard loosened up and Stella capitalized on it. ¡°...final gait*¡± Stella channeled her energy into her leg and broke through Riri¡¯s guard and landing the kick straight into her gut sending her straight down outside the arena. Riri stopped herself again before touching the ground. Stella continued her pursuit down towards Riri. ¡°...meteor stampede¡± She focused all her energy into this one shot. Riri still was groggy from the last assault. Her wings couldn¡¯t move they way she wanted to, she was helpless to the attack. As Stella was about to land the kick, Pantero pulled another cheapshot this time towards Stella whose attention was focused on Riri. ¡°Shadow claw!¡± Pantero shouted. Before Pantero¡¯s attack could land, Stella was able to put her shin up in defense. Pantero¡¯s collided with Stella sending her flying towards the inner walls of the Coliseum. Pantero landed on Riri and jumped off of her and back onto the arena. ¡°Pantero I¡¯m going to kill you for using me like that.¡± Riri flew back onto the arena and landed, falling onto one knee. ¡°Come on, you know I saved your ass out there. And besides Stella has to be disqualified, there¡¯s no way she can get...back...¡± Stella was speeding towards them through the air. She got in front of him. He threw a punch downwards, but she was able to dodge and counter it, throwing three quick kicks in succession. One to the face and two to the gut. He continued to claw at her, but she kept countering each of his strikes with a kick. He stumbled backwards. She spun around and threw another kick to the body sending him flying out of the arena and falling onto the ground. Pantero had been eliminated. END Chapter 17: Battle Royale 4 ¡°That idiot Pantero.¡± The leader of the Tiger Clan let out a heavy sigh. The crowd cheered for Stella¡¯s performance. Everyone thought she was the dark horse of this tournament. ¡°Don¡¯t get too full of yourself Stella, Pantero just got too overconfident.¡± Riri gathered herself up again. ¡°Dragon¡¯s breath!¡± Riri shot another beam at Stella. Stella was too quick for Riri to get accustomed to. She was able to close in on Riri and deliver multiple blows to the gut before landing a kick right under Riri¡¯s chin. ¡°B-bitch.¡± Riri muttered. ¡°...standing stampede.¡± Stella continuously kicked Riri, juggling her in mid air. ¡°STOP!¡± Mourno shouted. Stella stopped her assault. Riri¡¯s body fell to the ground with a sickening thud. She had already passed out. ¡°THE WINNER OF THE SECOND GROUP IS STELLA! But I issue a warning towards the Horse candidate. If you happen to go to far again, you will be disqualified.¡± Stella nodded then made her way back to her clan¡¯s section. ¡°The tournament will enter a short intermission to repair the stage.¡± Mourno said.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. The crowd got up and started moving about to replenish their snacks and drinks or just use the restroom. Doriama turned towards Raion. ¡°So what do you think of the competition so far? Think you can handle them?¡± Raion thought about it. ¡°Well, it looks like it¡¯ll be tough, but definitely doable. I always fought against my master everyday, so I¡¯m used to being in life or death sessions. So compared to this, it¡¯s not as scary. Not too worried.¡± Doriama laughed. ¡°I still have many more questions for this master of yours, but I¡¯ll save it for after you win this tournament.¡± Raion nodded. ¡°I always have questions about you too.¡± ¡°Oh, like what?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t play games Doriama. I¡¯m talking about this exile. Obviously mostly everyone here has some resentment towards you, I want to know why.¡± Doriama leaned back into his throne. ¡°Sure I¡¯ll tell you what happened after you win this though.¡± ¡°Alright deal.¡± Raion looked at the other Zodiac members. ¡°Speaking of which, why don¡¯t tell me a bit more about these members?¡± Doriama groaned. ¡°What, why? What do you want to know?¡± ¡°Well I figured knowing more about my competition will help me compete better.¡± ¡°Well you have a point, sure I¡¯ll humor you what do you want to know?¡± Doriama scratched the top of his head. ¡°Well first of, who¡¯s the strongest Zodiac member?¡± ¡°Me.¡± Raion stared at Doriama. ¡°No seriously. Who is it Doriama?¡± Doriama¡¯s face had a glooming sad expression. He held his head low. ¡°Okay fine, who¡¯s the second strongest behind you?¡± Doriama¡¯s head perked right back up. ¡°Second huh? That¡¯d be the leader of the Dragon Clan, Kyari.¡± ¡°It didn¡¯t look like the candidate was anything special.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be fooled, there¡¯s a huge difference between the leader and the candidate. Between a leader a its candidate there¡¯s no greater difference than that of the Dragon¡¯s. They¡¯re essentially in two different worlds.¡± ¡°Wow...¡± Doriama rested his head on his fist while leaning to one side. ¡°Well then, any other leader worth mentioning?¡± Raion questioned. ¡°No one in particular, but if anything...the leader of the Dog Clan is quite something too.¡± Doriama said. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°He essentially keeps the law enforced on this island.¡± ¡°How¡¯s that special?¡± ¡°Just think about it, to enforce the law on this island takes a considerable amount of strength to do so.¡± ¡°Ohhh...¡± ¡°Also, that guy knows everything. If you¡¯re looking to fight Bahamut in the future, you¡¯ll definitely be running into him.¡± ¡°Interesting.¡± Raion whispered to himself. ¡°SORRY for the wait everybody!¡± Mourno made his entrance. ¡°LET ROUND THREE BEGIN!¡± END Chapter 18: Battle Royale 5 The candidates for the Pig, Monkey and Dog entered the arena. The candidate for the Pig clan was a muscle looking brute. He had a bald head and wore chains around his neck. The candidate for the Monkey clan was a lanky guy who wore white clothing. The candidate for the Dog clan was a clean shaven guy who wore a kimono into battle. ¡°Is this tournament serious? I¡¯m in a group with a mut and a monkey? This¡¯ll be a piece of cake.¡± ¡°Of course all you think about is cake Borcho, you fat ass.¡± said the candidate from the Monkey clan. ¡°What¡¯d you say?¡± Borcho yelled. ¡°Go easy on the insults Chipangu.¡± said the candidate from the Dog clan. ¡°What? Are you taking his side Pibu?¡± Chipangu said. ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous.¡± Mourno stepped in. ¡°Is everyone ready?¡± All the candidates nodded.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°Okay. START!¡± All three of them instantly powered up. ¡°Spirit Equip! Boar!¡± ¡°Spirit Equip! Chimpanzee!¡± ¡°Spirit Equip! Pit Bull!¡± Borcho¡¯s spirit equip gave him tusk gauntlets as weapons. Borcho let out a monstrous battle cry and charged straight down towards them both. Chipangu engaged in combat with him. Chipangu was able to halt Borcho¡¯s advance. They both got into a heavy brawl exchanging punches with each other. Pibu jumped into the fray and all three of them started fighting exchanging blows with each other. It wasn¡¯t a pretty fight at all. There were no counterplay, no fancy skills, no amazing technique, just an all out brawl. This was the type of fight the crowd really enjoyed. A blood bath. All three contestants were heavily injured. It was easy to see that with their bodies so injured that the next round for them would be impossible to compete in, however, whatever it was their pride wouldn¡¯t allow them to step down in this brawl. They had to prove the were the strongest. Borcho had the advantage, but Pibu and Chipangu hung in there. Twenty minutes have passed since the start of the fight. Borcho was visible getting weakened. His punches started to lose their edge. Chipangu had a face that was practically unrecognizable at this point. Pibu had injured his arm, so he could only brawl with one arm. Borcho finally lost his footing. Pibu and Chipangu capitalized on this fact and simultaneously attacked Borcho. Borcho only had enough strength in him to counter attack Chipangu¡¯s attack. Borcho and Chipangu connected their blows with each other. As Chipangu fell to the ground, Pibu was able to land his shot on Borcho without any repercussions. Borcho passed out standing up. Pibu was the only one left standing. ¡°THE WINNER OF ROUND 3 IS PIBU OF THE DOG CLAN!¡± Mourno raised Pibu¡¯s hand. The crowd cheered wildly for the manly competition. The end of the royales was near. The only group left was Group Four. ¡°Are you ready Raion?¡± Doriama asked. ¡°Yes.¡± Raion replied. ¡°Alright. Good luck kid.¡± After clearing the arena, Mourno stepped in. ¡°Will the candidates from Group Four please come down!¡± Raion headed down first. The crowd was anxious to see Raion fight since he was a late addition and no one knew anything about him. They were also curious about him since he was accompanied by Doriama who was also a slight enigma to the masses. Meeting Raion in the arena was the candidate of the Goat Clan, Ramses. Finally the candidate for the Ox Clan showed up. ¡°Well, well.¡± A familiar figured appeared before Raion. ¡°If it isn¡¯t the little Mr. Goody Two Shoes.¡± ¡°Baison, it¡¯s nice to see you again.¡± END