“It’s an honour to face you here today, Ki of the Air Moon Sect.” Kel declared with a deep bow.

“Sure.” Ki snapped back, already assuming an offensive pose.

“Seems like you’ve really changed since last time we met.”

“You’ve grown as well.” Kel answered with an eyebrow raised.

“You haven’t visited our temple in a long time.” Ki continued.

“I apologize if I have caused offense. The path I walk has taken some unexpected turns.” Kel said with a grin.

“But I will make a point of visiting you and your brother in the near future. Have you succeeded in mastering the Spirit Dagger Skill yet?”

“See for yourself!” Ki shouted as two glowing blades appeared in her hands, pointing at the ground like two long fangs.

Ki’s next move was predictable based on her stance, but it was still impressive to all who watched how quickly she jumped from one side of Kel to the other while stabbing at him relentlessly with her daggers. Kel smiled at first, blocking each individual strike by summoning only a small amount of armour, but he gradually found himself coating more and more of himself in armour as the attacks grew less predictable. A flurry of stabs came from behind, then suddenly a dagger was at his throat.

Each stab of Ki’s daggers quickly bounced off of Kel’s armour with a hollow sound, but the space between attacks quickly reached a point where it was difficult to count them.

“You turtle folks all wear that sword at your waist!” Ki shouted through the barrage of attacks as Kel strained his concentration to continue deflecting them.

“Is it just for show? Are you going to ‘block’ me to death?”

Her childlike laughter cut through the cheers of the crowd, but her attacks only continued to increase in speed.

“The sword of a Fire Mountain Turtle Sect disciple is a hunting tool…” Kel replied slowly, slightly embarrassed to be struggling to defend himself against such small weapons.

“But I assure you… I will respond to your attacks.”

Kel then allowed his armour to dissipate and quickly channeled his energy into a single shield on his left arm, just in time to use it to deflect a two handed attack at his chest. Ki was flung backwards several paces, but she continued to laugh boisterously as she regained her footing.

“Oh, come on, Kel!” She shouted back as she readied another assault.

“That may be enough to keep my brother away…”

She jumped high into the air, coming between Kel and the moon which shone in the night sky, and threw both of her daggers straight at Kel. Kel raised his shield to deflect them away from his face, causing them to shatter and disappear. However, while his vision was obscured, he was suddenly lifted off the ground. His legs flailed as he began flying straight up to Ki against his will as she began her descent toward him.

“The Moon Art!” Kel shouted as he struggled to right himself in the air.

“And I thought you were slow!” Ki mocked him in reply.

He refocused his energy into the shield on his arm as she wound back a kick. He blocked it the same way he’d blocked the daggers, but the small girl’s kick delivered far more force than he had expected. The moment Ki’s foot met his shield from above, a force enveloped Kel’s body which pulled him to the ground faster than he would have thought possible. Though he was able to absorb much of the impact with his feet, his knees buckled beneath the weight of Ki’s kick.

“I thought that would squish you.” She shouted as she jumped away, leaving Kel to struggle to his feet and stretch out his weakened arm.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“To think you’ve already mastered the art to such an extent…” Kel complimented her while channeling energy to his legs in anticipation of another attack.

“If you would hurry up and master the Mountain Art, you might have a chance one day…” Ki mocked him again.

“Oh well!”

Kel took the initiative this time, rushing forward and punching her while using the shield as an extension of his fist. The sharp corner of the bottom of the shield looked like it would tear right through the much smaller opponent as he proceeded confidently. He watched her hands as he prepared to defend against a counter attack, but she waved them quickly instead.

Only a single pace away from Ki, His shield suddenly accelerated beyond his intent, slipping right off of his arm and flying over Ki’s head and disappearing into the air before it could collide with the spectators far behind her. He began to summon another, but in his short moment of confusion, Ki had driven a dagger upward into his arm. She yanked it to the side, shifting his momentum just enough that he stumbled past her without landing even the smallest attack.

Her attack wasn’t finished though, as she continued to guide Kel in a circle, spinning him around and sending him flying back in the direction from which he’d just launched his attack. The dagger left his arm ahead of a trail of blood, but Kel needed little time to regain his footing.

“The Tidal Force Technique was always difficult to deal with…” Kel said as he formed a tight shield of energy around his wounded arm. He stretched out his shoulder and took his rusty old shield off his back, then smiled at Ki.

“But I’ve learned something recently.”

“I hope you learn faster than you run!” Ki taunted him as she summoned two more daggers and immediately pulled Kel toward her with the same technique as before. All the energy in his body was suddenly drawn to her, but this time his response surprised Ki. As before, Ki prepared to attack the moment he was in range, but this time he arrived much more quickly.

“What did you-”

“Sometimes you have to go with the flow!” Kel shouted, having accelerated beyond the pull of her tidal force to close the distance before she could ready her daggers.

CRUNCH

Ki had almost managed to jump out of the way in time, but Kel’s rusty shield collided with her arm to produce a loud sound that made Micro cringe where he stood, though the rest of the stadium was jumping out of their seats with the excitement of the battle.

Kel rolled to a stop and picked himself up near the edge of the platform while Ki retreated to the other side while gripping her arm.

“Clever turtle…” She said, almost growling at him through a smile. She quickly summoned a dagger twice the size as the ones before in her one working hand while her other arm trailed limply behind her and ran straight to Kel.

This time, she applied the Tidal Force technique to herself as well as Kel. Kel braced himself behind his shield, filling it with as much energy as it could hold.

But the dagger never touched his shield.

From behind his shield, he hadn’t seen her discard the weapon and somersault through the air, aiming both of her legs at the shield as she curled into a ball. Rather than a sudden impact, her legs absorbed the shock of their collision in the centre of the arena, but she soon extended her legs again.

“Visit us soon, Kel!” She shouted as she added the weight of her Tidal Force technique to her kick, causing Kel and his shield to fly straight into an audience member sitting near a laughing Tahon.

“The young representative of the Air Moon Sect is victorious!” The announcer declared.

~

“So you can use energy to make gravity…” Micro mumbled as he watched Kel walk down the stairs of the stands back to the centre of the arena.

“Gravity?” Tsurum asked with a tone of surprise.

“You mean the Tidal Force?”

“It’s the same thing.” Micro replied.

“You have some understanding of the Moon Art, master?” Tae asked with equal surprise.

“Well, I know gravity when I see it.” Micro shrugged. He looked back at Tsurum, then smiled.

“The old man’s son learned about it in school. He was excited about things like planets and space back then…”

“Master!” Kel greeted Micro as he returned, battered and bruised but otherwise happy.

“Sorry you lost, Kel.” Micro replied.

“Don’t be!” Kel said with a laugh.

“Honour is in the fight, not the result! My grandfather never beat the Air Moon Sect Leader once before mastering the Fire Mountain Art. The Tidal Force technique is also quite formidable, and my mastery of the Turtle Art is not yet sufficient to match it.”

“You can say that again!” Ki shouted from the stage, having listened to his explanation.

“It was a good battle!” Kel shouted back.

“I promise to visit soon!”

“Hmph.” Ki turned her nose up at his reply.

“If you must.”

The air of the arena was jovial as the afterglow of the battle settled in. But the high spirits of the contestants in the waiting area were soon challenged by an unexpected voice.

“Oh!” Blue said as she jumped out of Micro’s pocket.

“I want to fight her!”