World: 71 days.
Arkensaw: 26 days.
A day before the tournament, Jason finishes another sparring session with Taiga and heads over to the guild to check for letters. There he receives a letter from Sam.
----
Greetings Lad,
I hope this letter finds you well. As per your preference I shall 'cut to the chase'. The guild has received reports that there has been an increase in Hazard Beast activity in the small mining village of Escaville located near you.
Goblins have occupied a number of abandoned mines including the largest one. They have hunted a sizable number of Hazard Beasts in the area, and have begun attacking the villagers and surrounding roads, almost a dozen people have perished already.
Additionally, an ogre leader has been confirmed, so an extermination campaign has been issued.
However, the Guild takes time to organise such a thing; especially one of this scale, so more losses might be incurred in the meantime.
I request that you make your way there immediately; ahead of anyone else. Your tasks will be as follows:
- secure the roads around the village.
- defend the village.
- Eliminate goblin hunting parties as well as any hoglins you see.
Use your discretion in keeping yourself safe, and NEVER engage the Ogre. You are to run on sight.
Hold the fort until the Guild sends it's people to support you. I'll trust in your judgment from here on out.
Godspeed.
Sam.
---
After reading the letter, Jason looked through the rest of the envelope to find a report as well as a special quest invoice assigned specifically to him by Sam personally.
"Well, that's interesting! I've got a lot of running around to do, huh." Jason couldn't come up with a better comment for the situation. He was happy to get some action, but wasn't sure about the other emotions he was feeling.
First order of business was to see if he could get transportation to the mining village. However, to his dismay no merchants were going that direction due to the goblin attacks along the road.
There was a quest out to exterminate the goblins along the road, but by virtue of the quest still being on the wall, no one had taken it. After asking around, he learned that nobody in town was free enough to take up such a quest as they were already short-staffed enough as is.
"Oh well, since I'm going there anyway, might as well take it myself."
After taking the quest, he heads back to the inn to packs his stuff, then leaves for the dojo to have a chat with the Master. After getting there he saw the master speaking with a man he hadn't seen before.
Not wanting to interrupt their chat, he found a corner of the dojo and sat down to quietly meditate as he waited.
Several minutes passed before the conversation ended, the man left, and the master went over to Jason.
"Apologies for the wait. So do tell me what you wish to speak to me about."
"Well,..." Jason explains the situation. And when he was done, the master had an unreadable expression.
"I see... Such a turn of events... So what do you intend to do?"
"Hmmm... Well, since the tournament is at noon tomorrow, i figured I'd participate, then challenge you right away, eat and leave. That way I should be able to arrive at the mining village by nightfall."
"Hn! Here you go talking as if you already have it won. Plus you treat challenging me so casually. It seems we've gotten too familiar~." The master says in mock indignation.
"Hehehe... No offense intended. Honest." Jason replies in mock regret.
"Jokes aside, would it be too much to ask you wait another day before challenging me? I'd prefer you to be at your best."
"Sorry, but I'm already waiting a day. I was told to leave right away. This is the most leeway I can give."
"Very well. Guess it can't be helped, then. Do as you wish."
"Will do. Thanks for understanding."
"Hmmm..."
"What?"
"You never asked who it was I was speaking to earlier. Aren't you curious?"
"Well, yeah I am, but that's non of my business. But If you're itching to share, by all means don't hesitate."
"Hn! You sly fellow!"
"Hahaha!"
"He's a 'returning master' here to take my place."
"..."
"..."
"Did you get fired? or..."
"Nothing of the sort! Long story short, a master runs a dojo for 3 years, at the end of which they are replaced and free to adventure for 1 year as they travel to the Sect HQ for an evaluation to see who gets promoted to Grandmaster. My time has come. Right after this tournament I shall vacate this dojo."
"Woah..."
"Indeed. All the other students were aware long before you arrived. I just never got around to telling you. Now you know."
"Gee... Thanks."
"And that is why I'll be joining you on your little goblin adventure."
"Wait. What?"
"It's a great way kick things off, don't you think?"
"Yeah... Yeah! It sure is. I wouldn't mind the help. Having someone to watch my back would be great."
"Thank you for accepting. Though we have to postpone talks till later, as lessons are about to begin."
"Sure. Fine by me."
World: 72 days.
Arkensaw: 27 days.
Everyone gathered in a clearing in the nearby woods about to start the tournament. No ceremony was required, just straight to it. With the addition of Jason, the students were 8 in total making things straightforward.
Lots were drawn:
Jason vs Zack.
Taiga vs Mark.
Alex vs Ben.
Allen vs Joe.
The quarter-finals was very brief. All fights concluded within 1 minute each. Jason elected to use Flow Style so as not to hurt his opponent.
Jason vs Alex.
Taiga vs Allen.
The two strongest students according to Taiga face her and Jason respectively. Jason's match is up first. Both men made their way to the clearing and got into position; awaiting their signal to begin.
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"Fight!"
Neither men attack. They remain still and continue guaging each other; looking for openings. This lasts for almost a minute before Jason makes the first move.
He rushes Alex and throws a straight punch at his head. Alex counters ducking under the blow and delivering a blow to Jason's midsection.
However Jason twists in such a way that the blow strikes off centre; using its force to spin and delivering a spinning backhand to Alex with his extended fist immediately followed by a punch from his other hand, then a kick to the back of the head which plants Alex's face into the dirt as he's knocked out. All 3 strikes done in one fluid motion.
Jason moves on to the finals.
Then the other semi-final fight begins. Taiga has come a long way since Jason became her sparring partner. She still doesn't believe she's strong enough to defeat Allen who's tied with Alex with the most number of tournament wins, but her goal is to give it her all and improve where she can.
The fight was one sided, but Allen wasn't having a casual time at it. Taiga was going at it like a madwoman, and Allen was matching her blow for blow. He was unable to end the fight quickly as her dodging was better than in the past, and she powered through his blows as she continued attacking.
Things continued this way until Allen got frustrated after suffering a direct hit which broke his nose. He retaliated by striking her sternum with his palm with a burst of ki which rippled through her body; making blood spurt out of her mouth.
The devastating blow brought Taiga to her knees as she struggled to catch her breath and get back to her feet.
"Fight over! Winner, Allen!" The master calls the fight immediately.
"Wait! I can... Still..." As Taiga struggled to protest the decision, she began to swoon as things got blurry before she collapsed to the ground.
Both Jason and the Master were by her side in an instant. She was flipped to her back and revealed she was bleeding through her mouth and nose.
Immediately hitting her acupoints, the Master stopped the internal bleeding before carrying Taiga away.
"30 minutes break before we begin the final match. Rest up." The Master said.
Jason looked at Allen, and Allen returned the look for some time before looking downwards in frustration and sighing.
Jason wasn't mad at Allen. Despite the viciousness of the attack, he knew Allen didn't intend to hurt Taiga as bad as he did. He just wanted to end the fight quickly.
The 30 minutes passed as Taiga was stabilized and her life was no longer in danger. The Master returned to the clearing and called both finalists over.
"Fight!"
Everyone was expecting that the two would either lunge at one another or stand still while guaging each other for openings. Instead, what they saw was Jason casually walking up to Allen with his guard down.
Allen was flabbergasted by this display. He wondered why Jason would leave himself so wide open, but he was not dumb enough to let his guard down, as he knew this was a trap.
Allen began throwing punches; firing off concentrated ki projectiles as he did in Jason's direction, but Jason kept dodging them with minimal movement whilst never missing a step as he continued to approach unimpeded.
This shocking display made Allen jump back and made distance between the two. Jason continued to approach, Allen continued his ranged attack, and Jason continued dodging.
This went on for almost a minute as Allen contemplated his next move. If he kept this cat and mouse strategy going, he'd run out of ki soon enough and be forced into a melee while on the back foot.
Allen eventually stopped running around to prepare his final range attack. He drew both hands behind him, them thrust them forward as he let loose twin slower moving ki projectiles that were too close together for Jason to sidestep between.
As the attack flew, Allen darted forward as fast is he could. His intention was to force Jason to parry the attacks so he could attack him through the opening.
As he predicted, Jason coated his hands with ki and used them to deflect both projectiles. Allen wasted no time in going for the opening that revealed itself.
BOOM!
'What?!!!' Allen was beyond shocked as he unconsciously reached for his gut while backpedalling.
'He somehow managed to transition from Flowstyle to Blitztyle and hit me first despite moving after I did. How is that even possible?!' Allen screamed internally in confusion.
Both masters watched the match attentively as they took in the showing.
"Transitioning between styles is exceedingly difficult. It takes decades of training to do so as well as he just did. How'd you manage to stumble upon such a genius?" Asked the man.
"Hmmm. I guess I was just lucky."
"Luck, huh..."
Jason began firing ki blasts at the stunned Allen who uses all his strength to dodge. He manages to avoid the first few, before taking a shot to the knee which opens him up to being bombarded by light yet painful blasts.
Jason fires his last projectile, then darts at Allen. The latter tries to defend himself but is pummeled by Jason who slips past his wobbly defenses to deliver blow after blow.
"Stop! Match Over!" Called the master.
"Huh?" This confuses Jason, but he backs away from Allen anyway. It is then he realises that Allen was unconscious while standing with his guard up.
The Master walks over to the man and sighs. "I'm always blown away by your tenacity, Allen. How great I'd be if I had even half of it." And with that said, she took him away for treatment.
Time passed as Allen was being treated, and Taiga regained consciousness within that time. Jason was by her side in moment.
"Hey. How are you feeling?"
"Like shiiiiit, dude. What do you think?"
"Hahaha. I can imagine. But don't you worry. I avenged you and defended your honor."
"Yaaaay... My hero... Honor my ass."
"If you insist..."
"Woah Woah Woah! Don't touch my butt, ya perv!"
"But you told me to honor it..."
"You..."
The banter between the two continues till the Master's return.
"Well. Congratulations on winning the tournament, Jason. I'm guessing you still wish to challenge me right now, yes?"
"Yup! Let's get this done."
"Good, good! Come join me at the clearing, then."
The two make it there, and they turn to face each other. Meanwhile everyone present is watching with interest at a fight they believe they won't forget anytime soon.
"I will lower my cultivation to your level. We shall fight with equal speed and strength. Come at me with everything you have, Jason. Hold nothing back!"
"As you wish!"
"Begin!"
Jason immediately closes the distance with the Master as he throws a ki infused blow which she casually deflects. He keeps up the pressure with a flurry of blows, each deflected just a easily as the last.
Out of nowhere, Jason is brushed off his feet. And as his body is horizontal in midair, he takes a palm strike to the gut which grounds him, but not before punching the extended arm with both of his from opposite ends while releasing a burst of ki from each.
Jason hits the ground and immediately rolls to his feet and raises his guard while trying to ignore the pain he's feeling. The master on the other hand flexes her arm gingerly. "Good, goo-."
Before she can finish, Jason sends two crescent slashes of ki in an x-pattern at her, then runs at high speeds after the attack. His intention was to attack the moment she deals with the attack.
As predicted, she counters his attack with her own single vertical slash which destroys both attacks, and is just fast enough to barely dodge Jason's attempt to punish the small opening she revealed.
Jason continues his attempt to overwhelm her with a hailstorm of blows, and while she is pushed back, she doesn't get hit once.
Once again, she manages to find an opening to legsweep him once again. But this time she maintains her momentum and spin which she uses to smoothly transition into a back kick. Learning her lesson, she doesn't keep her leg extended, but pulls it back the instant it hits Jason.
However, that precaution didn't matter as she took a ki blast to the back as Jason was sent flying across the clearing. The Master may not have seen what happened, but the spectators did.
The instant the leg sweep made contact, Jason began preparing the ki blast with one hand, while moving his other hand to the front of his torso to intercept the kick. The master's back kick was blocked by a burst of ki released from Jason's palm. Therefore he experienced more of a shove than a kick. Plus he managed to punish the master in the process.
The master was surprised at what Jason managed to pull off, but didn't speak or let down her guard as she observed him rolling to his feet. After locking eyes for a moment, they begin circling each other looking for openings.
Jason had more openings, but the master was concerned about what sort of counter attack he would punish her with when she struck him. That's why she has decided to go with a long-mid range approach. But as she begins to enter a stance, Jason darts forward into her space; forcing her to abandon the strategy for the time.
'He has has an encyclopedic level knowledge of all the kata I've taught him. He can predict what I intend to do the moment I begin moving...'
The Master does a feint which Jason falls for and punished him with kick to the face which he barely blocks, but still gets his arm shoved into his face.
'Let's see how good you are at adapting, then.'
Jason takes a more cautious stance. He'd like to end things quickly, but she's no pushover. Even while nerfing herself she's a nightmare to deal with. What he needs to do is to catch her off guard and end things with the opening created.
Jason decides to go all in on Flowstyle and direct all his [Parallel Thought]s on the fight, leaving only 1 on ki control. Swapping stances, he begins edging his way towards the master.
The Master right away noticed the number of his openings drop by half, then goes up by 1. This meant to her that he was baiting her. Regardless, she still let him approach.
When they got within striking range of one another, the master made the first move and delivered a chop which Jason moved to deflect before she pulled back and transitioned into a punch from the other side which Jason raised his knee to intercept without breaking the flow of his movement. The next number of exchanges were the same, and Jason wasn't struck once during that time.
Memorizing all the Katas, plus as every fight he'd seen, as well as the benefits of muscle memory allowed Jason to meld all the moves fluidly with the guidance of Flowstyle.
Every move he made could smoothly transition into a number of others, and each of those into others of their own. Whenever the master moved to attack, he immediately knew what she was going to pull, and his body knew which of the finite moves would counter it smoothly.
Even if she did a faint, he knew his openings, what moves to close them with, what moves to punish with, and what moves the master would most likely try to use after said faint.
This had made him virtually untouchable to anybody who practiced the Primordial Fist up to the master's level. This wouldn't be half as effective against anyone who uses a different martial art on the level of the master since he didn't have a database to work with.
Regardless, Jason wasn't getting any hits in either. She was a master for a reason. Plus his Attack Power was diminished since he wasn't using the other offensive Styles. They were in a stalemate, and he had to figure out how to get out of it.
"Good, good! That's what a want to see. Show me more of what you got!" The Master seemed to be enjoying their bout.
The stalemate continued and the unlookers couldn't afford to blink. It reminded Jason of a sprite animation he loved rewatching where an uppercut throwing Assasin fought an ice clone creating Chamaleon Ninja and the final stretch was the two dodging each other's blows in close quarters. The smallest mistake, and someone was taking a hit that would end the fight.
'THAT'S IT!' Realizing a path to victory, Jason began recalling moves from his two favourite fighting games and his body soaked them up. Now he had more attack options. All he needed was an opening, and attack with a move she's never seen before.
And it didn't take long for the opening to show itself when The Master does a horizontal chop. Instead of leaning back, Jason goes into a crouch. He reels one arm back in preparation for a blow, and at the same time sends a flick jab at the master's shin; knocking the leg back and making her fall forward.
Without giving her the chance to recover, Jason throws a devastating uppercut with the other arm, which despite being blocked, still connected with the master's torso, sending her a few inches into the air.
Without missing a beat, Jason begins assaulting her with a flurry of blows; that pushed her back while simultaneously keeping her off the ground. She manages to block most hits, but not completely, and she took a fair few straight on.
A beautiful rising uppercut connects, knocking her head and arms back. Capitalizing on the huge opening, he attempts to strike her again while they're both midair, which he succeeds in with a punch to the side of the face, however, the master rolls with the punch by tilting her head, grabs Jason's arm, and makes the two abruptly spin with tremendous force before execution a perfect midair judo throw which slams Jason back first into the ground, knocking all the air out of him.
Before Jason can get his wits about him or even catch his breath, he takes a shot to the face and is knocked unconscious.
The Match is Over.
Arkensaw Town, Dakota Dukedom.
World: 72 days.
Arkensaw: 27 days.