You have slept in a bed! All injuries and ailments have been cured. 100% Chi regenerated.
There was a hand shaking my shoulder slightly.
“Wake up Koda.”
It took me a moment to remember where I was, and who I was now. Although it came back to me quickly and I nodded towards Bato, who had already gotten dressed and was outside of my igloo. I hadn’t bothered to get undressed after my training exercise the night before, so I yanked the fur covers off of me before following him outside.
I will say, being able to wake up without any drowsiness because of the game was pretty great. Also, I had only gotten probably an hour worth of sleep because of my training the night before. So that told me that I didn’t need a full nights sleep to get the full benefits from resting. Definitely another thing I would be abusing for the near future.
Speaking of last night's training…
‘Stats’
Koda
Level 6 (180/300)
Title: Apprentice Waterbender: CHI increased by 30% at night. CHI Regeneration increased by 100% at night. CHI Regeneration increased while in contact with water by 100%. CHI increased by 30% while in contact with water.
Chi: 340 (442*) 51/hr (102*/Hr)
Strength: 10
Vitality: 10
Dexterity: 10 (13)
Intelligence: 34
Wisdom: 11
AP: 0
Every Time I saw my new title, I was in awe of what it did for me. The regeneration was what really did it for me. It allowed me to pump nearly all of my points into INT to grow my Chi pool without having to really worry about WIS. And that wasn’t all that I had managed to accomplish the first night that I was in this world.
‘Skills’
Waterbending Lvl 32
You resonate with the water around you, and within a 10 feet radius, it obeys you. The cost of techniques decreased by 31%. Can actively affect the temperature of the water.
Icebending Lvl 47
Ability to manipulate frozen water. The cost of techniques decreased by 44%. Must be within 20 feet of the source to manipulate. Can actively change water to ice at 24% reduction in Chi.
Spear wielding Lvl 16 - 160 EXP
Ability to fight with a spear. It is not very good.
Spear Throwing Lvl 10 - 100 EXP
Ability to throw a spear with accuracy. 10% accuracy.
Taekwondo Lvl 70
Your kicks are deadly from years of study. 30% passive increase to Dexterity. 50% increase in strength when a kick is used.
The Gamer power is broken, there is no way around it. Everytime I leveled up my bending abilities, it gave me the knowledge I needed. It wasn’t like I was toying around with bending, figuring out what I could do with it. No the game provided that information. I didn’t have to discover that stopping the flow of the water, in my mind, would freeze it, the game told me. Just like it told me that if I imagined the water vibrating, it would heat the water up.
These were things that a normal bender would have to discover through trial and error, or by instruction from a teacher. The game provided it for me whenever I leveled up. I would soon be the most powerful water bender on the planet. That was something that I was positive on, based on the advancements of the last few days. How strong would I be within the month?
I was broken out of my thoughts by the brightness of the sun bouncing off of the snow around me, causing me to squint as soon as I was out of my igloo. As much as it hurt my eyes, I liked finally seeing the sun and feeling it on what little skin I had visible.
“Hakoda has returned from the other tribes, and he was obviously successful.” Bato said as he looked towards the west with his hands covering his eyes from the sun.
Hakoda… Sokka and Katara’s father.
I followed his gaze to find that our little plateau wasn’t surrounded by a frozen tundra like I thought yesterday. Had I been so distracted by the game and my transmigration that I had missed the port and all of the ships docked at it?
There were five of a decent size that were docked at the piers. They were the same type of sailboats that were shown in the cartoon. Although as I looked at them, they were unimpressive compared to the massive firebender ships that I knew dominated the seas. And without benders from my tribe to even the playing field on the water, these sail boats would be decimated if we ever came across a fire nation ship.
I looked out further into the port to see what my father was talking about. Another ten ships were closing the distance on our little village.
“Successful in what father?” I asked, curious as to why there were this many ships arriving.
“The Northern Water Tribe has called us to battle again. Hakoda answered the call, and so we must too.” Bato answered with a grim look on his face.
Just like I thought, I was sent here just before we went off to war, 2 years before the return of the Avatar. Coincidence? I think not. Does the Game want me to fight the Fire Nation?
Before I knew it, I had a matching look of unease on my face.
Bato waved towards me.
“Let’s meet them at the docks.”
And so we walked towards them, which was close to four hundred yards away from us, down the plateau we lived on. It became obvious why I didn’t see the port last night as well. We were camped close to the edge of the plateau and I had traveled further away from the docks to train. That combined with the low visibility of the night and my distracted state didn’t allow me to see the dock.
Nor did it allow me to see the ruins of what I knew to be Wolf Cove hugging the port. The legendary walls made of ice were little more than mounds of snow at this point and provided only a wind buffer for the people within it.
I will say though, a proper city was sprawled inside of it and that gave me hope for my people. Yesterday I thought we were a small tribe of maybe fifty people total. Now I could see that there were thousands just inside of Wolf Cove. That didn’t include the tribes scattered across the continent we were on either. The Southern Water Tribe wasn’t done yet it seemed.
And the arriving ships prove that.
Soon enough, our footsteps could be heard hitting the wooden docks, just as the first ship dropped its anchor in the harbor. Women and children were huddled together and a crowd started to form around the land of the pier. Although they let me and my father pass through them.
A small rowboat carrying about ten men could be seen coming towards us already. There was a man standing up at the front of it while his fellows rowed towards us. He had an air of nobility to him, and sharp eyes. His black hair was pulled back in a knot, although some of his hair reached his shoulders. I could see the faint hint of gray dot his temples. It was Hakoda although I had never seen him in this life.
“Bato!” Hakoda said as he pounded his chest and let out a yelp. His voice carried over the water, despite being fairly far out in the water. My father couldn’t help but smile at the man, and I realized that this was actually my namesake in this world.
My father let out a war cry and raised his spear in the air. The grim look on his face was chased away.
Koda and Hakoda… real nice dad…
We waited patiently for them to get to the pier and my father reached out and caught the rope before bending down and tying it onto a post. And then there were ten men hopping out and onto the pier.
Bato and Hakoda embraced each other quickly.
“I did it Bato! I did it!” Hakoda said as he turned around and gestured to all of the ships coming into the port. My father smiled at him, although it was strained. It was obvious to me that Bato wasn’t as excited to go to war as his longtime friend.
“And look at you nephew!” Hakoda’s arm was off of Bato’s and wrapped me into a hug. I returned it out of respect for the man and this body's relationship.
“Careful, he took a blow from a polar bear last week. It’s his first day out of bed.” My father told him as he grabbed him by the shoulder.
Hakoda stepped back and held his arms on my shoulders before inspecting me for any injuries. “He looks fine. Did he get it?” He asked with a smile.
“Yes. He’s a warrior now.” Bato confirmed with a grin.
Well I guess the previous owner of this body was a badass. To kill a polar bear with a spear is no small feat.
“Good! Is he coming?” Hakoda asked again, although he did not smile as big when he asked that.
“No.” Bato answered immediately.
“Yes.” I answered at the same time as my ‘father’.
Bato’s attention leapt to me immediately, and he spoke again with authority and sternness. “You are not going. We talked about this and my word is final.”
No you talked to your son about it. You think I’m going to pass up the opportunity to see more of this world? On top of that, fight the big bad guy that is the Fire Nation?? No chance I’m staying pops.
“I am a warrior and an adult father. I make my own decisions.” I responded evenly. This man would get my respect for raising the boy that used to inhabit this body. But I was still not willing to let my new life be dictated by him.
“You are my son, and you will obey me.” Bato growled towards me.
“No, I will make my own decisions. Plus, you will need a waterbender if we encounter a Fire Nation ship.”
I chose my words carefully. I had thought about this last night. Should I hide my ability to bend until I became powerful enough? Should I just reveal it and use that as a way to gain a bit of prominence in the community? But now that I knew the timeline, and the fact that they were about to go off to war with the Fire Nation changed everything. I could use my bending to protect these people, and I’m sure that I would have ample opportunity to level up in a war.
Why wouldn’t I try to gain power with the Gamer?
“A waterbender?” Both Bato and Hakoda asked with the same confused tone of voice.
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
I squatted and brought my hands low, before I reached out to the water around me with my Chi. Once I found the connection with the water around the pier, I pulled it while shoving my arms up as if I was lifting something.
Water flowed from the sea beneath us and rose around the pier, around the small boats, and into the air. There were two streams of it about as wide as my chest on either side of the pier. Once it reached a peak of about ten feet above us, I brought my hands back down and pushed the water back the way it came.
I made sure not to get anyone else wet as well. Just because the sun was out didn’t mean it wouldn’t be cold as hell if someone got soaked.
The crowd of people around the piers hushed quietly as they watched the water rise and fall. And then all at once they ‘oohd and aahhhhd’ at the casual display of bending. It had been a long time since someone of this tribe was a bender. If memory serves, Katara was the last one of the Southern Water Tribe.
“Waterbender…”
“Did you see that…”
“Is that Koda?”
My father hadn’t said anything despite my display. He was staring at me with a frown and a horrified look on his face. We both knew what I had just done. I had just secured myself a spot with the warriors. Waterbending was too great of an advantage to just leave me behind.
“You have hidden him from me?” Hakoda asked my father after a moment of everyone settling down. His face was a little bit harder then. He must have thought that we were actively hiding my abilities, and therefore didn’t trust him.
“I had no idea…” Bato muttered.
Hakoda turned to me then. “How long have you known?” He asked.
I thought about how to answer that carefully. His wife, Katara and Sokka’s mother, had been killed about 6 years before the start of the Avatar, and if we were leaving that put us roughly 2 years away from Aang’s awakening.
His wife has already been killed then.
“About a year. I’ve been practicing at night, while you all slept.” I answered. It was only half a lie, to be honest. I did practice at night, but it was only last night. That would also help explain how advanced I already was to anyone curious.
The two warriors and best friends shared a look. Their faces were hard, and I knew that they were having a conversation without ever saying a word. Eventually, Hakoda was the one who turned back to me.
“You cannot stay here and entice the Fire Nation to look for another Waterbender. That would endanger our tribe.” Hakoda told me with strained eyes. He was worried for his daughter, who was also a waterbender. He was worried that they would come and find her, instead of me.
“You’ll soon regret wanting to go to war, Koda.”
----------------------------------------
I threw the covers off of me once again. I wasn’t tired, and I could use the time to train my bending. My father hadn’t spoken a word to me since Hakoda and the other warriors had arrived. We had been setting up tents and igloos all day for them and unloading the ships of supplies for the village. I had proven myself invaluable.
I think I made it worse by building all of the igloos with my bending.
The sudden decline in my people made sense after my experiences today. Not only had our supplies been ravaged by the war, but our benders had been too. Benders could make this land livable and maybe even bearable. We would never be able to grow crops, but there were plentiful other resources we could use to trade for food. .
For example, I knew from the show that there was a massive oil reserve somewhere on the continent. That in itself could uplift the tribe, if my past life was any indication. And then add to the fact that any bender could literally build a structure out of ice for shelter.
Although I would prefer that our people would move to a more hospitable place.
I crawled out of my igloo, and found my father sitting on the snow outside of it with his legs crossed and his spear in his lap.
Here we go…
“My father was a waterbender… I don’t think I ever told you that.” Bato told me as I stood up. “To this day, I don’t know if they killed him or if he’s still rotting away in that prison.”
I knew that the Fire Nation had hunted the waterbenders of my tribe to extinction. It must have been thousands of benders over the course of the war. But it was pretty shitty that Bato didn’t know if his father still lived or not. I would assume that he didn’t.
“Are you worried that I will suffer the same fate?” I asked. I wasn’t sure what else to say.
“I have always worried about that. It is the reason I never brought up waterbending to you. I thought that if you never came across the possibility, then it would never develop.” He answered.
“You’re a good father.” I told him with a smile. It was a little heartwarming to hear that story, even if it was a foolish notion. Waterbending was in the soul, the spirit if you will. He would have never told me but the moon cannot lie. Even now, I could feel the water around me in the ice.
“I am a coward!” Bato corrected. “You deserve the opportunity to have a well-lived life. If I had tested you as my father did me, then you could have trained half of your life already. You could be with the main tribe, instead of this floating block of ice waiting to die!”
The main tribe? As in the Northern Water Tribe? Is that what they’ve been doing with their benders? Sending them away to be trained by Pakku?
I continued to stand there as I came to that realization.
Wait that can’t be right, surely the benders would return after their training.
And then it hit me. No they wouldn’t return. We were in a war, and benders were the key to the war. Everyone else was just cannon fodder, unfortunately. The North would keep the benders for themselves to protect the main tribe, and the Spirit Oasis.
Even still, what they were doing wasn’t right. They were just using the Southern Tribes as breeding grounds for waterbenders and ignoring our suffering and hardship. It wasn’t right.
I couldn’t stop the small bit of resentment that swelled in my chest for the Northern Water Tribe.
“I’ll never leave you for the Northern Water Tribe. They have never cared for us, beyond the waterbenders they can take for themselves. They abandoned us a long time ago.” I told him.
It was not only a statement, but a promise. Why should another tribe, literally on the other side of the planet, dictate what we do. It made no sense. Especially since our people haven’t had contact with them for decades. That much I remembered from the show.
“Yet you are eager to go to war for them.” Bato retorted as he gripped his spear tight.
“No. I go to fight the Fire Nation, because the threat is bigger than any one nation or tribe.” I corrected, a sudden conviction grabbing me. There was just something about declaring it out loud that really made me clench my jaw and summon determination to see the task done.
“You sound like Hakoda now.” Bato grunted as he set his spear in the snow beside him before pulling himself up. “Get your spear and follow me.” He said while walking away from our Igloos.
I obeyed.
----------------------------------------
The shaft of the spear caught me on my upper lip, and despite turning to take some of the force away, the taste of copper filled my mouth quickly. I stumbled away from my father as my hand came up to inspect the damage. There was a relatively small split on the top lip that bled as if it was from an artery.
I spit it on the ground behind me, speckling the white snow red. My hand dropped back to my spear and I turned back around to Bato.
Skill level up! X 3 +30 Exp
Fighting Level 52
A generalized skill of fighting, no matter the opponent or what they are using to fight with.
Spear wielding Lvl 18
Ability to fight with a spear. It is still not very good.
I leveled my spear at him, signaling that I was ready to go again.
I guess my first quest is going to be harder than I thought.
Defeat your father Bato once before sunrise! Prove that you are ready for war!
Rewards:
400 Exp
Bone Club
Failure:
Loss of respect amongst the tribe.
Bato dropped down low and mimicked my stance. On our spears, was a leather cover so as to not hurt one another too badly. Of course, as my lip could tell you, it still fucking hurt to be hit by the damned thing.
Alright, he’s obviously not taking it easy on me. I’m winning one spar.
I steeled myself and moved forward quickly, and jabbed my spear towards his neck. Although I did not stop, I allowed myself to keep moving and close the distance, even after he deflected my thrust and sent his own towards me.
I dropped my spear, and grabbed the shaft of his while I dodged the thrust. I was chest to chest with the man at this point, so I shoved my shoulder into his sternum causing him to stumble backwards. I had to put literally all of my weight into shoving him because of my low strength stat. I took advantage of this, and swept his legs out from underneath him.
As I continued my momentum from my leg sweep, I summoned my Chi and grabbed onto some of the snow around me. On instinct, I melted the snow and formed it into a picture perfect copy of my spear before I froze it again.
When Bato’s back hit the ground, he had an ice spear resting right above his neck, ready to pierce his throat.
“Yield.” I commanded.
I expected the man to be frowning, but he wasn’t. Instead he had a smile on his face. Was he waiting for me to pull out the waterbending? Or was he just proud in general.
“I yield.” Bato agreed with a nod.
Quest completed!
+400 Exp
+Bone Club (added to inventory)
Level up! +5 AP
Koda
Level 7 (310/350)
Title: Apprentice Waterbender: CHI increased by 30% at night. CHI Regeneration increased by 100% at night. CHI Regeneration increased while in contact with water by 100%. CHI increased by 30% while in contact with water.
Chi: 340 (575*) 51/hr (204*/Hr)
Strength: 10
Vitality: 10
Dexterity: 10 (13)
Intelligence: 34
Wisdom: 11
AP: 5
“Good fight son.” Bato said, distracting me from distributing my points. “I was waiting on you to use your bending. That is what will set you apart from the other warriors and that is what you must practice fighting with. Your spear should be your last option.”
I nodded, although I hadn’t expected him to say that. I actually assumed he would want me to hide my bending. I didn’t think that would make any sense, but a part of me thought he would be too protective of me to want me to paint a target on my back like that. After all, any Fire Nation soldiers we came up against would immediately target me to either kill or capture.
“Let’s get some rest, we’ll pack the ships tomorrow, and then we leave.” Bato said before turning around and waving for me to follow him.
“Actually, I was hoping to practice my bending a little more.” I told him, not following him.
He turned back to me. “You need your rest.” He insisted.
I looked up to the sky, where half of the moon was staring back at me.
I can’t tell him that I really don’t need that much rest. How can I get him to leave me alone out here…?
“Ah, I understand.” Bato said, causing me to look back at him. His head was looking upwards staring at the moon. “My father used to say the moon called to him. He didn’t sleep very well either.”
Bato turned around and began walking back towards camp.
“Don’t stay out too late.”
----------------------------------------
“We’re going to do it a little differently today…” I muttered as I adopted my traditional taekwondo stance.
I had realized something while sparring with my father. There was a reason that my fighting level was only 52. This world wasn’t as simple as being about to throw a punch or kick. This world had weapons, ships, armies even. But the scariest thing was the bending.
“I was waiting on you to use your bending. That is what will set you apart from the other warriors and that is what you must practice fighting with. Your spear should be your last option.” My fathers words struck something within me.
I simply wasn’t used to fighting and incorporating bending into any type of style.
The Fire Nation was dedicated to that fact. Their schools taught martial arts that enhanced their firebending. Very few people could bend fire the way Zuko did during his Agni Kai with Azula. Most firebenders would kick the air to throw a wave of fire at someone. Or would throw a jab to send a fireball at someone.
That was deadly and I didn’t know how to do the same.
I did realize that it wasn’t the end all be all of bending though. The true mastery and bending of any element came from all aspects of every elemental bending. You needed to be stubborn and strong sometimes, like the earthbenders. You needed to flow and adapt like waterbenders. You needed to be free and uncaring as the air benders. At the same time, aggression and power through one's breathing is needed like firebending.
But that would come with time. I hadn’t studied all the other bending techniques like Iroh. I need to be able to fight with waterbending in a war. And to do that, I planned on practicing with what I knew best: Taekwondo.
So I set my feet, and moved through my forms. I went through every kick I knew once without bending, from the simple to the advanced ones that had me jumping and twirling in the air to pull them off.
The second time I went through my forms, I did my best to incorporate my bending. When I kicked, a stream of water followed and flew through the air at an imaginary target.
Waterbending Style Unlocked!
Name?
The prompt took me by surprise. Especially considering I hadn’t even considered that it would create a whole new style. And it was letting me name it, which was pretty badass.
Keep it simple: Koda Style.
Koda Style Waterbending Lvl 5 +50 Exp
Your own style of waterbending. It is a practical style that uses kicks from taekwondo to generate attacks and defenses. It is still in development.
The prompt was right, so I went through the forms for the third time. There were some forms though that didn’t feel right. There was something else that I could do instead of a stream of water. So I tried ice on my fourth time.
And then some of those forms didn’t feel right again.
I spent all night practicing waves, streams, and whips of water and ice trying to perfect my style.