Just as the announcer had done after Kel’s victory against Lana, he declared a short recess during which Kel would be allowed to recover and the arena would be repaired. The other contestants seemed to disappear as soon as the announcement was made, some checking in on their injured comrades, others simply enjoying a short walk around the tournament grounds.

“Tea, honoured guest…?” An old mundane woman with shaking legs asked Micro as he looked around. She looked no higher than his feet as she held a glass out for him to drink, as many other mundane workers were doing throughout the arena.

“Thank you very much!” Micro said happily as he took the drink to enjoy.

“What’s your name?”

“Excuse me, honoured guest?” The lady flinched, causing dust to fall from her worn clothing.

“What’s your name?” Micro asked again.

“I’m Micro.”

Confused and scared, the old woman finally looked up at him, her dusty face pale with fear. Taking a small step back, she looked up at his eyes.

“I’m- I’m…” She stuttered, as the fear in her face suddenly vanished. Her nervous aura suddenly relaxed, and she nodded slowly as she looked into his eyes.

“I see…”

“See?” Micro asked.

“Nice to meet you, See!”

He waved to her, but she quickly backed away, bowed deeply, and disappeared into the crowd. Micro chased after her, intending to return the now empty tea cup, but she was gone.

“I guess mundane people are a little different…” Micro shrugged as he looked around for somewhere to place the cup, then decided to throw it into his storage.

“I hope they bring me more soon. That was good tea…”

“Oh!” A man’s voice suddenly startled him.

“How rare to see such a young man with the Storage Skill!”

Micro turned around to see a short man in orange robes covered in gold ornaments. No matter where Micro looked, sunlight continued to bounce off the numerous decorations into his eyes, but he did his best not to squint as he greeted the man.

“Storage is a convenient skill!” Micro replied happily.

“Do you have it too?”

“Naturally!” The man replied with a prideful chuckle.

“I’m Tohan, of the Air Dragon Sect. You may have heard of me!”

“I haven’t!” Micro answered, laughing along with the man.

“Oh?!” The man gasped dramatically, but then he laughed a little more and continued.

“We’re a merchant sect, you see? It’s only natural that we should hold the Storage Skill in such high regard. But you are from that Fire Mountain Turtle Sect, are you not?”

“I’m here with Kel!” Micro replied excitedly.

“We’re making friends by fighting people!”

“He’s done much to restore his reputation today, indeed he has!” Tohan shouted.

“He made me a fair amount of gold today with those two battles. Here, take some!”

“Really?” Micro shouted back as he held his hands out to receive several gold coins.

“Are you sure? I thought gold was valuable.”

“Of course it is!” Tohan laughed as other cultivators from around the region came and went, bumping into them as they passed.

“But a dragon’s treasure isn’t its gold, but the gold it has yet to acquire! And I see gold when I look at you, young master!”

“I see now…” Micro said with a look of realization.

“Dragons are like trucks!”

“I don’t think I heard you right, young master.” Tohan replied with an awkward laugh.

“You can carry things between cities, just like a truck!” Micro said as he put his gold coins in storage.

“You’re the perfect delivery service!”

“No, no, no!” Tohan replied, laughing so hard that tears formed in his eyes.

“Storage isn’t the tool of messengers! It’s where we keep our treasure! Leave the business to us merchants, young master. You just focus on your little tournament!”

“Okay!” Micro said, laughing along with him.

“Thanks, Tohan!”

Micro continued to walk around for a little while, watching cultivators come and go while the mundane workers repaired the arena. He noticed one worker had begun painting small patterns on several stones.

“I didn’t notice those before.” Micro commented to the mundane worker as he passed by, startling the worker enough that he dropped the small cup in which his paint was stored. Micro was able to catch it for him, though some of the paint spilled onto his shirt.

“Honoured guest!” The mundane man panicked and bowed with his head touching the ground.

“Forgive this humble servant!”

“It’s just paint right?” Micro asked in confusion.

“It’ll come out. Keep up the good work!

He backed away from the man slowly, feeling remorseful to have distracted him from his duties to such an extent. The man continued to shiver in fear as he slowly raised his head, and Micro thought he saw a smile form on the man’s face as he turned to leave, but he noticed Kel emerging from the recovery room and ran to meet him.

“How are you, Kel?!” He called out in excitement.

“Are you going to make another friend now?”

“Make another- Oh, I see.” Kel replied.

“No, I’ll be stepping down for the next match. Though I would gladly accept an invitation to participate in the next round if it were offered, I don’t think I would provide much of a challenge in my current state.”

“You’ve done more than enough, young master!” Tae suddenly called out from the entrance, ignoring Vera’s warnings against leaving so soon. Tae limped over to Micro and Kel with a smile on her face despite the pain.

“I heard everything. The sect leader will be-”

She finally gave into the pain in her side and let out a pained cough, and Kel offered her his arm to help her balance, but the announcer soon called Kel back to the stage to announce his decision. Micro offered Tae his shoulder in Kel’s place, and Kel departed with a content expression.

“Will you fight again, or will you nominate another to lead the next round?!” The announcer called out as the crowd fell silent once again. This time, Micro noticed many among the crowd exchanging gold coins and bits of paper, mostly around Tohan who sat giggling in his seat as he counted the coins in his lap.

“I shall nominate another to lead the next round!” He declared, sparking the excited speculation of all who watched.

The other contestants returned to the waiting area as Kel addressed the announcer, and Kiula soon appeared beside Tae to drag her back to the recovery room. Micro waved to her as she tried to resist, but she was back in the care of the two healers before long. Only one member of each of the other sects now remained next to Micro. Thea stood beside him as before, while Teran, Ki, and Yin stood silently nearer to the wall.

“I wonder who he’ll pick to lead the next fight.” Micro said to Thea.

“The strategic choice would be Yin, but he may choose Teran, because he knows he isn’t her first choice of opponent.” She replied casually.

“Let’s see.”

“Who do you choose?!” The announcer asked, his question echoed by countless spectators.

“I nominate Micro, representative of the Fire Mountain Turtle Sect!”

There was no particular reaction to Kel’s announcement, though most of the audience was confused that he had nominated his only remaining comrade to fight in his place.

“That’s a bad move…” Ki, the young girl from the Air Moon Sect, sighed with contempt.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“It’s brave…” Yin added quietly.

“He’s traded in his cowardice for foolishness.” Teran quipped.

“So, the he-” Ki began, but she corrected herself.

“...Micro is next to choose his opponent, huh?”

Micro looked blankly behind him at the contestants as they discussed his selection, but had no replies to offer them. He turned around to see Kel standing before him with a wide smile, reaching out to grab Micro’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry you had to wait so long, master!” Kel spoke loudly, as Micro’s aura quickly began to radiate his uncertainty.

“What should I do?!” He asked Kel frantically.

“I don’t want to hurt these young people!”

“You knocked Mary around pretty thoroughly the other day.” Thea whispered over his with an eyebrow raised.

“You attacked me all of a sudden!” Micro replied anxiously.

“That was different! Now I have to choose somebody to hit…”

“I know it was not your place to fight among the weak on your world, master.” Kel interrupted him.

“But there is no way forward but to challenge those who stand before you now. You must show this world who you are through your actions. Show them your true self. Show them your power, your strength, and your wisdom. They must see the path you walk.”

“The path I walk…” Micro sighed.

“There is no other path before you.” Kel continued.

“Your destination is clear, right?”

“I want to go home.” Micro replied, nodding.

“Between here and there are many battles.” Kel explained quickly.

“This is the road home…” Micro said with resignation.

“This is the road…”

Without another word, Micro suddenly started walking toward the stage, not looking back at Kel or the others. The crude stone steps that led up to the platform passed beneath his feet as he looked ahead, and he managed not to trip over the bump stone slabs that made up the arena on his way to the centre of the stage.

A thousand pairs of eyes were trained on him, more than had ever looked at him at a single time. He looked around until he noticed the announcer watching him impatiently.

“You are the one called Micro?” The announcer asked, his voice stirring the silence in the arena.

“Yes.” Micro replied blankly.

“Hello.”

“You were late today, but you are familiar with the rules?” The announcer asked with a look of worry.

“I have to push somebody off the edge of the platform.” Micro replied.

“Or I have to stay awake longer than them. Right?”

“You may use any Art, Skill, Trait, or Weapon at your disposal!” The announcer continued.

“Who shall you face on behalf of the Fire Mountain Turtle Sect?!”

Micro looked back at the contestants. His eyes naturally fell on Kel, but Kel looked too tired to fight, so he scanned the other constants for a moment. Teran and Ki looked at him with disgust, and Yin looked at him with suspicion, but Thea seemed to be enjoying his time on the stage.

Thea watched him with a grin, as though she were expecting something interesting to happen, but her eyes widened slightly when she noticed his gaze had stopped at her.

“Umm, I choose Thea!” Micro announced tentatively.

“Seriously?!” A shout could be heard from the audience.

“That new child courts death!” Another voice rang out.

“To challenge the heir of a rival sect in his position…!”

“Where does his confidence come from?!”

The confused and concerned shouts of the audience eventually combined to form an excited roar as Thea walked joyfully up the stairs to join Micro on the stage.

“I’m honoured by your challenge, Micro of the Fire Mountain Turtle Sect!” She declared formally with a bow.

“I accept your challenge as heir to the Sparrow Sect!”

Micro noticed Kel gesturing to him, apparently instructing him to bow immediately. Micro mimicked the bow of Thea, causing several among the audience to laugh at his awkward mannerisms, but Thea smiled back.

“I may kill you, Micro.” Thea stated with her usual coy smile.

“But I look forward to seeing what you’re made of.”

“Oh…” Micro replied with a frown.

“I’ll try not to injure you, but…”

As he stood in the middle of the stage with a nervous expression, Thea suddenly kicked off the ground and flew straight past him on his right. He followed her as she landed gracefully behind him, then spun around and launched a kick straight at his head. Unable to duck in time, he summoned his turtle armour at once, causing Thea’s leg to bounce off without issue.

“That is indeed the same Turtle Art Kel’s grandfather uses…” Thea said as she rested her foot on the ground and nodded. Before Micro had time to reply, she took the bow from her back along with an ordinary arrow and fired it straight at Micro’s chest.

“Ha!” Micro shouted at the instant the arrow made contact with his armour, knowing it would be slowed but not stopped. He channeled as much energy as he could to his chest to help nullify the arrow’s momentum, and Thea watched casually from a distance as he plucked the arrow from his chest with a grunt. Only the tip was covered in blood, but Micro looked distressed to have failed to stop it completely.

“It’s not nearly as tough though.” Thea sighed.

“Perhaps you’re just pretending after all.”

“What do you mean?” Micro asked as he applied pressure to his wound.

“You know the art, I’ll give you that…” Thea shrugged as she drew an arrow of energy from the air and took aim once again.

“But that’s all…”

“That’s-” Micro wanted to ask what she meant, but he could only gasp as he narrowly dodged the energy arrow which went on to fly straight out of the arena before dissipating in the air above the city.

She fired several more energy arrows at him, looking less and less amused as he dodged some and deflected others, but neither of the contestants seemed to be running out of energy.

“Were you not watching Kel fight just now?” Thea asked as she rushed over to him, swinging her bow like a club and catching him squarely in the jaw, sending him flying half way across the stage to the sound of both praise and jeers.

“Weren’t you going to take this seriously?”

“Sorry…” Micro said as he stood up, uninjured but unsure how to proceed.

“I’d wonder if you’d ever been in a fight before if I hadn’t seen you face Mary not long ago.” Thea scoffed.

“Was that a fluke? You sure looked angry back then. Where’s that sincerity now!?”

“Sorry!” Micro managed to say as Thea’s bow once again came rushing toward his head. This time he was able to deflect it with his armoured hands, but an aura-clad kick found his chest and sent him straight back to the ground.

“Defensive driving is one thing…” He mumbled as he stood up again.

“But attacking someone so young-”

“You dare?!” Thea shouted as she stepped forward to slap him.

Micro almost didn’t bother defending himself against the simple attack, but he realized as he raised an arm to block it that Thea’s hand was carrying more than enough energy in it to destroy his armour. Thea’s open hand knocked Micro’s arm away with ease before shattering his ethereal helmet and making a loud crack as it met his raw cheek.

“Were you just another arrogant young master after all?” She said coldly.

“To look down on me here… such a disappointment…”

She walked over to him as he struggled to his knees and kicked him in the shoulder hard enough to crack his armour, knocking him back down yet again. She watched him stand up once more, not looking her in the eyes even once, and shook her head.

“Stop it…” Micro said with shaking lips.

“You came here to prove your worth.” Thea said, ignoring his request.

“And you have.”

She summoned the strongest arrow she’d wielded since the fight began and took aim at Micro indifferently.

Realizing the fight would eventually end with another arrow in his chest, Micro desperately tried to recall how the contestants of the previous match fought. He rushed forward with his head down and tried to punch Thea, but she easily avoided the attack and tripped him with a low kick without the point of her arrow ever turning away from him. He stood up and tried again to punch her, but again she avoided the attack and tripped him. The futile scene began to fill the arena with a bitter air, and what few cheers there had been a moment ago were now being drowned out by the complaints of the audience.

“Why…” Micro groaned as he stood up, still looking at the ground.

“Why what?” Thea asked in frustration, ready to fire her arrow.

“Why does making friends hurt?” He asked her.

“You mean to make me your friend by throwing one insulting punch after another?” Thea asked sarcastically.

“Insulting…?”

“Bonds formed in battle are based on sincerity, you naive child!” Thea explained as she fired her arrow. It collided instantly with Micro’s stomach, sending him flying backward with an explosion of blue and green lights.

“If you aren’t going to fight with everything you have, then just bleed to death before you offend me further.”

“Everything I have…” Micro coughed as he held his wounded stomach, doing his best to fortify it with energy as Thea walked over to him with another arrow forming in her hand.

“Everything…”

The light of Thea’s arrow suddenly blinded him as he rolled over to look up at her, and his body felt lighter suddenly. He felt himself trying to look around, but everything was white.

“Everything I have…” He thought to himself as he sensed Thea’s arrow growing in power not far from him.

“Be true to myself… Use the Turtle Art… Do what feels natural… What feels natural…”

He wondered if what he was experiencing was his life flashing before his eyes, something the old man had mentioned after narrowly avoiding an accident several times, and the voices of Kel, Vera, and the others he’d met recently filled his mind.

“I have to win the fight… or I’ll die…” He thought in frustration as the jumbled advice of the cultivators he’d met swirled around his mind. Punching Thea felt so wrong that the energy in his body wouldn’t even answer the call to reinforce his fists. Standing up to fight her made his legs feel heavier than they had on the mountain in the Mountain Art dungeon.

“Do what feels natural…”

His mind reeled hopelessly as he began to wait for Thea’s arrow to end his journey through the strange, roadless world he’d been cast upon by accident. His frustration left him as he chose to spend his final moments recalling the first time his owner had ever driven him.

“He was so scared to hit the gas back then…” Micro thought to himself, unable to laugh in his unconscious state, but smiling somewhere in his heart.

“He always put too much cargo in the back, but I never let him down…”

…

“Oh!”

A warm feeling rushed over Micro as he lay there on the cold arena floor, the nostalgia of his old body’s daily tasks making him long to leave his current vessel. Thea looked bitterly down her arrow at his face, apparently content to die, as she relaxed her fingers.

“Disappointing…” She sighed as the arrow left her bow, but she could only gasp when she was suddenly surrounded on all sides by thick green walls of aura. She used every form of energy attack she could think of to break through the walls, but every dent she made quickly repaired itself, as though an impossible amount of energy was constantly being poured into it.

“What is this?!” She screamed as she continued her futile assault on the oddly shaped walls. She thought she could hear Micro shout something through the impossibly dense wall, but the next thing she heard was an explosion that shook her to her core and made the whole box move slightly.

“Huh?”