Jiden leapt into the air as he jumped forward at blazing speed—shifting his body to his side while in the air and moving his hips, shoulders, and legs all into one line. A flying side kick.

Elmer promptly jumped to the side and dodged the attack that sent an air blast which obliterated a section of stalls. He saw his chance as his opponent was still in the air, and he shuffled up towards his opponent while maintaining his stance and threw a heavy right cross towards the still airborne attacker.

Jiden promptly crossed his arms to block the punch and a pulse of blue energy was expelled from the collision. Elmer was blasted back in surprise as he crashed into a nearby tree.

His opponent wasted no time as he leapt forward raising up one leg high in the air and kicking down—aiming to strike Elmer with the bottom of his foot.

Elmer then seemingly melted into the earth.

Even his opponent was confused but Jiden snapped out of his confusion when Elmer seemingly appeared out of thin air and threw a right hook at Jiden's chin. It landed and sent him soaring into the air. He landed on his feet and both met again in a torrent of fists and kicks. It was hard to keep up with them since they moved so fast, but they were just slow enough to be visible.

Elmer threw a roundhouse kick to his opponent's face and Jiden promptly ducked and threw a right cross at the other boy's body. Elmer sidestepped the punch and threw a knee, but that was promptly countered by a jab which denied Elmer’s follow up pushing-kick to the solar plexus. Jiden followed up the jab with a cross, a hook to the body and one promptly to the face. He then threw a rapid follow up of combinations and Elmer was pushed back. Jiden stepped forward and turned around before kicking straight back into Elmer’s stomach—the momentum of the turn adding extra power to the graceful back kick.

I could tell Elmer was getting angry as he stood up with a vengeful glare. He closed his eyes and began to breathe. Everything around us seemed to go silent as extreme tension flooded the air.

Jiden stood guard but he wasn't even ready for what followed. Elmer simply disappeared into thin air—only a wisp of the wind following his trail. An invisible force collided with Jiden as a look of surprise and pain appeared on his face. His body bent inward and he didn’t have time to react as another force came colliding with his chin. He was sent so far into the sky that I had trouble tracking his whereabouts. It was all so strange….Elmer had seemingly disappeared into thin air but was somehow doing damage to Jiden. To me it looked like the very air was hurting Jiden.

Jiden crashed onto the ground with a resounding thud. He was immediately forced up against a tree and he held up his arms to cover his face–while his elbows covered his body. He was taking shot after shot as the invisible force was destroying the environment around them. But something wasn’t right–Jiden looked too confident to be in a corner. He still had a look of grim concentration on his face and he looked to be in control based on his body language and demeanor. An idea suddenly sprang into my head.

He’s getting hit on purpose.

I saw the force continue to rain upon his body. He was bleeding and bruises covered his arms and legs. There were flashes of what appeared to be Elmer blinking through the air as short bursts of his afterimages became visible to the human eye. His stamina is running out.

Jiden took two more shots and then darted out into the open area. The trail of wind followed him and he promptly leaned back towards his left—avoiding the crater-forming attack which missed his face by a hair. He ducked under another shot, slipped two more direct attacks, and somersaulted over the incoming trail of wind. He pushed off the ground with his hands when he landed—flipping his body into the air and landing on his feet.

The deadly torrent of wind came charging directly at him but this time the Elmer seemed to put every last ounce of his strength into one, big counterattack. The wind buzzed with a deadly whistle, the ground tore up from the speed of his charge. People were blown away and screams rang out into the air as trees uplifted and tossed into the air.

Jiden concentrated with all his might.

As the torrent of deadly wind was a grass-blade away from his face he ducked under the attack with perfect timing.

He bent his knees, dropped his body, and came level with Elmer’s toros--now clearly open for a clean shot. Elemer’s face filled with fear as Jiden smiled. His fist charged up with violently bright blue energy as he pushed off his back leg and threw a blazing, energized punch right into Elemer’s stomach.

There was a huge pulse of blue energy which radiated in a ring around both warriors. I heard yells and screams as any people left standing were thrown to the ground and stalls flew up into the sky. Homes and buildings were uprooted and the very earth seemed to implode as trees, stones, and giant chunks of soil were thrown around in every single direction.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

I was thrown to the ground off of my haystack and promptly got up to see the outcome of the match. The trading center was largely destroyed. It looked like an earthquake had graced our presence as stalls were lying sideways miles from their destination. Almost zero stalls were intact and the ground was transformed into a crater nearly the size of a lake. People who were left standing were either tending to the wounded, or waiting to see the outcome. Jiden stood still with his clothes in tatters and his body covered in blood and sweat. Elmer was lying on his side—defeated and critically wounded, but not dead. Jiden’s voice rang out into the sky, “I figured out about halfway through. You can morph into your surroundings–or various different things in your surroundings. It’s tricky to deal with. If I faced someone who had a brain along with your abilities it would’ve been pretty difficult.” Jiden spoke in a sincere but hard voice, “It wasn’t a completely clean battle from me but it doesn’t matter. I am the winner.”

Chapter 6: Eden Academy

“These warrior kids are going to drive me crazy,” said one of the men that were sent to my door, “It’s quite shocking is it not? Even if they are specialized warriors to duel in such an inappropriate environment.” The other guard spoke with a hint of disbelief, “Civilian infrastructure and bodies are clearly not an importance to them. Someone needs to keep the brats in check.”

The guards slowly opened my door and we came face to face.

“So you’re the rare boy the chief patroller was talking about,” the man looked to be in his middle thirties with a handlebar mustache and slicked back brown hair. He wore a simple blue vest with horizontal black stripes racing across its leather surface. He looked at me with a hint of skepticism, and it wasn't until his colleague had spoken up that I stopped returning his gaze awkwardly.

The other guard spoke out, “Stop it, Yen. While he may not be of much in terms of uh ... .appearance, he is still a very important figure. Hello, my name is officer Teko and me and officer Yen have been instructed to guide you to your destination,” the man wore the same clothes as the other officer but was slightly shorter and had simple short black hair. He was a lot kinder with his words and looked at me with a less intense stare—which put me in a slightly more relaxed state.

I took a deep breath and asked them something I had been dying to know. “Hello officers. Can I ask you why I am being taken away? What can I do for any of the officials in the upper echelon of the empire?”

They looked at me for a little while and then finally spoke. “Let’s walk while we discuss these things,” both guards moved deeper into the largely destroyed town and motioned for me to follow.

As we walked the man named officer Teko gave me some brief information about what I was going to do in whatever place I was being taken to.

“You will be taken to the city of Eden. There you will be under supervision. You will be taught to try and control your potential abilities but as for your exact plans—noble Seno will be the judge of that matter.”

Oh right, the other nobles. I hadn’t given the other nobles much thought as I had focused too much on Wyren in the library. I almost forgot that there were other nobles—just as powerful—that ruled over the major regions of our empire. “Sir, can I ask you more about the other regions of the empire? After all, I am going to need to know some more information about them for my training.”

I tried to sound as innocent as possible. I didn’t want to give away that I knew so little about the world, but I needed information fast—if I wanted to fit in.

“Ok..?” The officer gave me a confused look but continued on, “Well noble Trepet is the ruler of region Hable, noble Dren is the ruler of Relen, and noble Wyren is the ruler of Villona.”

“Each region has their purpose and strength—mainly in what they produce. Our region is largely famous for its ability to house so many people and is essentially the most suitable for long-term living. We are also a leading producer of consumer goods because of our large workforce.”

“I can’t tell you in great detail about the other regions, but there is some basic information that I know. Hable is most famous for their agricultural products. Almost 70 percent of our grown food comes from Hable, and so they are essential to our empire. Relen is famous for their manufacture of technological products. Our weapons, best chariots, and liquor-imbued tools are produced there. Finally Villona is small but quite extravagant as they are the producers of valuable metals, ores, gems, and luxury products—like fur clothes and jewelry. They are very wealthy as a result and the rich generally live there,” I could see a hint of disgust in the guard's eyes as he told me about Villona. It made me respect him more than I had before.

We had apparently reached our destination as both guards stopped walking and we were in the midst of a large gate. I’m so tired of gates.

Upon touching their hand to the wall the gates swung open and I saw quite a sight before my eyes. There were beautiful trees that lined the cobblestone streets as they reflected the evening light perfectly. There were fountains placed everywhere as all of them were made of marble and gold. Several buildings were located in this extravagant center. I could make out a library with a domed roof of marble, a shop selling supplies like books and quills, a building with students pouring in and out of it, and many more.

It was like a dream. I had never seen a place so rich and beautiful—my eyes were…gleaming.

The other guard, officer Yen, had been quite cold hearted but gave a friendly smirk at my look. “Villona may be rich, but we have some money in our coffers too.”

All the people in this square looked to be about my age. They were laughing and shoving each other around, while some sat outside on small tables drinking beverages out of their porcelain cups. I saw a girl and a boy walk shyly with each other— giving each other awkward glances and smiles—hand in hand.

Oh wait, is this a school?

“Alright kid, this is the finest academy our region has to offer. In reality it’s one of the top academies in the empire. You won’t find much better institutions than this,” officer Yen told me these things with a dry voice.

“Go to that building..the far one with the huge pillars and triangular marble rooftop. That’s the acceptance hall—you’ll get your class schedules and instructions there. They’ll know who you are, and uh….have fun. Make some friends.”

Officer Yen turned around and gave me a wave with his back turned. Officer Teko sighed and looked at me with a look of amusement and tiredness. “He’s always like that—he cares but doesn’t show it. Kid, try not to let everything get to you. If you want you can file a formal complaint and get yourself out of this school into a new one. It’s just that with your new situation you’ll be able to afford this high quality of an education”.

He started to turn too. As he walked he took one last look at me. “Don’t get lost, and also don’t drink too much at the student concession buildings.”

They both walked off. Everyone that I had ever come across outside of my home town had hated me. I was a maggot, filth, a dirty peasant. But no one knew that right now. Even if no one knew I never thought anyone would ever help me—a helpless, good-for-nothing child.

The guards had no reason to care for me—so why did they?

Maybe there are some good people out there. I started to walk toward the building they had told me about.

People lie, cheat, hate, and hurt but maybe….maybe they can love a little too.