Stomping out of the waiting room, I walked down the corridor, grinding my teeth angrily and mumbling, “Where are they? Where are they?”
As I turned the corner to go into the Colosseum’s food court, which was full of people getting food and heading back to their seats, I went to the hidden corridor that led upstairs to the private rooms. I quickly ascended the stairs two at a time and reached the door at the top. I raised my fist to knock, and the door opened abruptly, greeting me with the smiling face of Orrin in his usual white suit.
“Well, what a stunning defeat you suffered, Zeana. What brings you here?” Orrin asked.
I glowered up at him, very much not in the mood. But I cleared my throat and asked, “I need your help with special training.”
Orrin never lost his smile as he asked, “Now, why would I do that?”
I blinked, and my mind raced to find an answer, “W-well, because … ummm, I asked?”
“True, although I am generous, you neither asked nicely, nor is it my responsibility to train you, especially for free,” Orrin countered as he leaned against the door frame and examined his manicured nails.
Biting my lip, I considered my response, “What do you want then?”
Orrin’s smile seemed to take on a devious air as he said, “I want information.”
I nodded, “What do you want to know?”
Stepping aside, Orrin waved me in, “Please come in. Take a seat.” I obliged and walked into the ornately furnished room and sat on the far couch while Orrin sat across from me on the opposite couch. Picking up a horn of mead and taking a sip, Orrin asked, “So, my first question. When you first stepped foot on the field, you were a sapphire rank cultivator with the power of a ruby. Now you’re an emerald. How many cores do you have?”
Without hesitation, I answered, “I have six.”
“That means you’re on par with a grandmaster and shouldn’t even be allowed to fight with the lower ranks.”
“If I had unlocked six cores.
“That— I beg your pardon?” Orrin began to argue but cut himself off.
“I’ve only unlocked my root, sacral, and solar cores.”
“Then how do you have six cores?” Orrin asked, skeptical.
“I split my cores.”
“Impossible,” Orrin scoffed, brushing my answers off, “Splitting your cores is the most painful of deaths someone could endure.”
“It is painful. The more powerful the core, the more likely you are to die,” I admitted, “but if the core is empty when you split it, you’ll only be comatose for about eight hours.”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Orrin blinked and looked at me, awestruck. “You’re not lying, are you?” he managed to ask.
“No,” I shook my head.
Taking another sip of mead, Orrin leaned forward and asked, “Is it possible to teach someone this technique?”
I shrugged, “I don’t know. If it can be taught, nobody would want to learn it. As you said, it’s excruciating and deadly.”
Orrin looked disappointed at that answer but pressed on, “What core compositions do you have, and what ranks are they?” hesitating to answer, I opened my system screen.
Name: Zeana Si’enn; Title: The Endless Storm; Race: Deadly Zin; Cores: 6; Age: 9.
First Core 1: Lightning And Force Lvl 7
First Core 2: Water And Life Lvl 7
Second Core 1: Earth And Force Lvl 7
Second Core 2: Ice, Edge, And Force Lvl 7
Third Core 1: Air and Fire Lvl 7
Third Core 2: Fire, Ice, And Edge Lvl 3
Skills:
Quick Advancements Lvl 9
High Pain Tolerance Lvl 2
Natural Abilities: Flight, Hard Skin, High Agility, High Dexterity, High Intelligence, Hivemind, Multiply, Genetic Alterations, Kitsune Form, Split Cores, Climbing Form, Tsudzurao Form, Quick Transformation.
Racial Abilities: Sin, Penance.
“The last one I have is level three,” I finally answered, still hesitant to give him everything.
“And what are they made of and the rest of the levels?” Orrin pushed.
I sighed and asked, “You won’t tell me anything unless I tell you all this, will you?” Orrin nodded smugly. Sighing again, I bit back my pride and answered, “My first two cores contain a storm spirit and Healing chakra. The next two contain the Shield chakra and Ice Claymore chakra. The final two contain an Inferno spirit and the Crucible spirit. All level seven.”
“You contain three spirits?” Orrin asked, dumbfounded, with his jaw hanging open, “And two of the chakras I don’t recognize. Starting with the Ice-Claymore and Crucible.”
“Ice-Claymore is just like the Ice-blade chakra, but with Force added. The Crucible chakra is ice, fire, and edge.”
“Ah, so three chakra— wait, wait, wait! Three chakras in those two?!”
I nodded, “I can probably teach that.”
Orrin nodded and fell silent for a few moments as he thought. Then he clapped his hands together and said, “Why did you come and ask me for help?”
“I need someone to teach me control and controlling singular chakras and what singular chakra would be suitable for a control chakra.”
“Then how about a deal? If you agree to teach me how to make a core with three chakras, I will teach you to control chakras as easily as you do your body. How does that sound?” Orrin asked, waiting for my answer.
I smiled, “Absolutely.”
“Excellent. I shall talk with Master Haze right away and get you training,” Orrin said, standing and making for the door. I hastily followed him as he walked briskly down the stairs and through the crowd. He moved so fast that I had trouble keeping up and had to jog to stay behind him. After a couple minutes of maneuvering through everyone, we ascended the stands as everyone cheered for the fight below.
Then we were near the top, where my team sat, and Haze looked concerned and disappointed at me. She stood and walked down the row to Orrin and I, followed closely by Yuki, who was very excited to see me again. As Yuki jumped up at me, and I picked her up and put her in her usual spot on my shoulders, Haze asked, “What has she done now?”
Orrin raised a hand placatingly, “She has done nothing wrong. She simply asked for training in singular chakra control. And has asked me to give her the training. If it is acceptable to you would like to start right away. Is that all right?”
Haze scowled at Orrin, baring her sharp canines, “Not without my supervision. She is still my student, after all.”
“Of course, of course. You are free to supervise at your leaser. But we would like to start now,” Orrin said, giving a slight respectful bow.
Haze groaned and turned to the rest of my team, “Stay here and watch to the end of the fights. Once they’re done, head to the training hall immediately. Got it?”
“Yes, master,” my team answered, standing and giving Haze a deep bow.
“Excellent! Come Zeana, Haze. We have much work to do,” Orrin said, walking past me and descending the stairs. I quickly followed, and Haze grumbled under her breath as she followed, clearly not excited about my training.
***