The Eternal Emperor and the Japanese Imperial family possessed magical, material, and political power. The samurai of the Minamoto Clan understood that power and gave them the respect they deserved. From the day they were named a part of the Minamoto clan, they trained till their bones broke. Kazi faced these warriors one after another, unofficial and still in training.

Clang! The curve of the Husnü’s Stormedge caught and deflected the katana down to the ground. The left armour of the Sorcerer was limp and the next swing that came upon him was too fast to deflect. Clang! To compensate, the Ultra Magic Barrier appeared like a steel wall. The protection it offered encouraged another hard swing. Clang! Clang! Clang!

His barrier expanded ever so slightly as Stormedge pointed at the samurai. “Ultra Aqua Bolt.” The samurai was fast and narrowly avoided the steel-bending bolt of water. Even a surprise sword strike failed to catch him. This samurai was not like Genji. He was experienced. He was better trained. Even so…

“He’s using spells from the Sorcerer Class…!”

“How is this possible?”

“The conditions for the Sorcerer Class is a plague for players…”

No one else but Genji wielded the golden flames. Thus, the ordinary samurai of the Minamoto clan, no matter how close or fervently they went on the offensive, did not concern Kazi Hossain. Their styles were various yet limited. So far, he counted four with the samurai in front of him wielding a katana with a longer hilt and an emphasis on raising the blade high. He was the same as Genji, slipping into the same raised high stance. From the spectators muttered, this was the Jōdan-no-kamae. The accompanying style was called Tamiya-ryu. From pure observation alone, the footwork was what made it a fearsome opposition.

If Kazi had not faced Genji early on, this nameless samurai might have posed an issue.

While his left arm was unusable, his right was not and that was all Kazi needed. He sniped three additional Ultra Aqua Bolts, always accompanying it with a chant. The samurai in black gained some distance and dodged them. Unlike the Fire Darts Genji faced, these were impossible to deal with. His prior two opponents could attest to that. The samurai ran and circled around, hoping for an opportunity.

Kazi stopped. There it was.

The samurai charged at him, his movements predictable. Three feet away, Kazi sent off another Ultra Aqua Bolt. The samurai swerved around it and kept going, his honed instincts kicking in. In that instant, Kazi deactivated his Ultra Magic Barrier and also charged in, thrusting forward with Stormedge. The samurai sent his blade from the side. Both blades came close to ripping flesh. However, Kazi’s Fire Dart landed first and blasted the face of the samurai. From there—

“Super Spark Strike!”

A clean strike at the knees. A weak point within the armour of the samurai. His opponent dropped to the ground, the electrical shock affecting him mentally as it did physically. Stormedge cleanly arrived at his neck, flickering with lightning.

Kazi looked down at his defeated foe, then Emperor Toru. “Next.”

Emperor Toru had nothing but applause. “Ha. Unfortunately, I've run out of samurai to throw at you.” He gestured to the seven samurai that he had defeated. Some were burned, others were electrocuted at a particular opening. None were healed by the Emperor. “Good thing I haven't put these men to work yet. They definitely need a couple more years of training if they want to serve me. Ah, and I sent my personal guards at Valhalla’s Colosseum to hunt for the tails of a kitsune.”

Right. These were the Minamoto Clan's samurai in training. The weakest of the weakest. The ones that could not act without a supervisor. The ones that did errands and were forced to prove themselves at every waking moment. The ones that were below the palace samurai and leagues under the Emperor's personal guards.

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The ones that, although specializing in archery, were forced to use swords against him. Kazi had felt the stiffness in their strikes. They were trained to fight with swords. They did not master it. Indeed, like most archers, there were calluses in their dominant hand, their bow hand, specifically in the palm below the middle, ring, and pinky fingers. Accounting for the Minamoto Clan's penchant for archery, the shared bigger sternocleidomastoid muscle, thicker fingers, and somewhat strange definition of arm and shoulder muscle, and there was no doubt in Kazi's mind.

'My opponents were all archers; and the Emperor forced them to fight as swordsmen.'

Kazi’s left arm ached. He didn’t want to think about the so-called elites he was referring to. He didn't want to think about how much stronger these weak samurai would be if they had their bows. He didn't to think about the Eternal Emperor's treatment toward his own family. Kazi wore a happy smile and did a curtsy, arms spread. “I hope that was entertainment enough, Your Highness.”

Emperor Toru’s smile was big, interrupted only by his chewing of Japanese soba with Chinese ground chicken meatballs. “You certainly lived up to the hype. Skills from the Sorcerer Class, not to mention fresh from Ascension…this is certainly a first for me.” He swallowed his soba and pointed his chopsticks at him. “Mm, you should get that arm fixed.”

Kazi had tried but failed. Healing spells applied to one's self were half as effective. More importantly, the flames of Amaterasu burned deep.

“One more word of advice since you’ve entertained me so vigorously: join the Old Mage Tower. Apprentice under a real sorcerer.” Emperor Toru slurped on some more soba. “Mm, if not, then enroll in the University of Magic. Go for their accelerated program. The semester will begin soon, I believe.”

“Haa…haa…” Stormedge disappeared and Kazi touched the deep cut on his cheek. The fourth samurai had nicked him with an intense lightning-coated blade. Still, Kazi remained smiling. “I will consider your words.”

From the palace two servants carried a large box. The box was opened, revealing a full set of flame-coloured prosthetics. Upon his third victory, the Emperor asked for the measurements as if he had already decided Kazi deserved them. He forced another four battles simply because he wanted to. Kazi knelt down and checked their quality. There was no doubt about it. The second his finger touched the surface, the difference between what he made versus this was made apparent. He took each prosthetic and placed it in his inventory.

"I'm looking forward to your development. You appear quite blessed, my friend." Emperor Toru smiled. “Bye-bye!”

Snap!

His vision blurred. Suddenly, Kazi was outside the palace again, his left arm wounded and burned, his face cut in two different places, and his legs shaking. He exhaled and dropped to his knees. “Mmmph…!” He slapped a hand to his mouth, nearly vomiting his lunch. “Ha…ha…haah…”

He had never felt so weak in his life.

***

Slowly but surely, he healed himself. It was a long, painful process, a hand full of Divine Healing Water pressed to his shoulder. He gave a nod of appreciation to Manish who wordlessly slid a mango pulp. His shop was like his personal safe haven.

“Ah, she’s here.” Kazi released his spell and waved a hand. The brunette that had just wandered in blinked, smiled, and came over to the corner spot. The closer she came, the weaker her smile became until she fully stopped in front of him. “Sit, sit.”

Elena did, albeit with great reluctance, her gaze glued to his left arm. “Kazi…? W-what happened to you?”

Kazi smiled and opened up his inventory. Piece by piece, he put down the scarlet prosthetics. “These are the prosthetics that Marta needs.”

“Huh—” Her eyes went wide. Even from her ordinary gaze, she could tell these were truly special. “That’s…that’s wonderful! You got them from the Japanese Emperor?”

“I did.”

Elena’s little celebration died as she considered the implications. “Wait…did…did they do this to you?”

Kazi’s smile remained as happy as it was. “Not a word to Marta.”

“W-what?”

“Not a word,” Kazi repeated. “Just help her put them on.”

“Huh, but you…” The burns on his arm were terrible. Elena looked away from them. “You got them for her.”

“But only you can help her get back up.”

“That’s not true, you’re her teacher. She looks up to you more than me. She’ll listen and do whatever you say.”

“Will she?”

“Of course she will!”

Kazi looked at the prosthetics and inhaled sharply. His left eye ached. “At the end of the day, no matter how correct my words are, I’m blessed.”

“Blessed…?”

He met her gaze, smiling sadly. “Who has been helping her eat? Who has been supporting her as she tries to walk? Who has been staying by her side all this time? It’s not me. I’ve been bringing groceries and making her stuff, but I didn’t take care of her. You did, Elena. That’s why it has to be you. If she hears words of encouragement from someone like me, someone that has been fighting in the Heavenly Games and growing stronger and stronger with a smile…she’ll break. Please. Do it for her.”