Chapter 12: Chapter 12:Child Labor Laws (Part 2)
*Quest Information*
*You've gain the intrigue of Sect Leader Girilda. Impress her to pass the exam.
Clear condition: Impress Girilda*
Girilda drags me into another room with Lafia close behind us.
Right in the middle of the room we were in was a 10 by 10 meter fighting arena with a square fighting space. Sourounding the ring were stadium seating that climbed up each side of the wall, with steps leading towards the entrance.
Lafia catches up to us and tries to stop Girilda from taking things any further.
"Girilda, you've got to stop. Aren't you the Sect Leader? How is it fair if we don't let Dean take the Exam from the Examaners that everyone else has to go through?" Lafia tries to reason with Girilda.
But Girilda isn't having it. She shakes her head and looks back towards Lafia.
"C'mon Lafia. He's the first ever Magical Boy. You got to let me hit him," Girilda whines back.
I sweatdrop.
"Well, no. I think that it's wildly inappropriate to treat a potential member like a sandbag anyways" Lafia retorts.
Yay Lafia!
"Lafia, you know that's not what I meant. Besides. I'm the Guild Leader. I'm free to choose who can and can't enter my Sect. There's nothing stopping me from not letting him enter unless he fights me." Girilda shrugs. "Besides, he is the first Magical Boy. I need to make sure it's something even worth keeping in the sect, or we'll waste a lot of resources supporting something we know nothing about."
Lafia seems ready to fight back.
"Still There's-,"
"Lafia it's okay," I cut in. "I'll fight her."
"Dean, no-" Lafia continues to try.
"Ohoho, so maybe you are a man after all?" Girilda interrupts. "Lafia, you heard him. give us some space."
Honestly, I don't know if I'm ready for a fight. I just woke up here yesterday, and I really haven't used my powers yet. But watching Lafia protect me constantly, I just felt pathetic. Besides, maybe I'll get a better reward if I do well.
Lafia bites her bottom lip, looking conflicted. She turns to me before turning back to walk towards the stadium seating.
I turn towards Girilda, as I get into a fighting stance. Immediately, Taekwondo Ascension's passive kicks in as the world around me Color Shifts blue.
*Host stats: (Taekwondo Ascension ×2)
Charisma: 40
Strength: 24
Stamina: 20
Agility: 30
Dexterity: 32
Intelligence: 16
Wisdom: 14
Health: 70/70
Mana: 2/2*
Girilda turns her back on me only to walk several feet away. She turns to face me with both arms behind her back.
"Okay then, pretty boy. Show me your magic."
Ignoring the obvious taunt, I slowly circle around Girilda. Right as she turned her body to face center towards me, I sprung foward with both legs.
As I was in the air, I turned my hips with my whole body as I brought my hind knee up in front of me. Right when she was facing me, I snap out a kick right towards her chin.
Girilda smiles.
As my kick connects, an image of a mountain unmistakably fills my mind. Instantly, a sharp pain running up my foot.
*Health: 65/70*
Right as I was pulling my foot back, Girlilda grabs me by the ankle.
I saw the room suddenly spin around me, my vision turning bloody red as pressure fills my eyes before I saw the floor rushing towards my face.
I felt the floor beneath me crack, as my face plows through the hard arena tiles. I stumble back onto my knees before the world starts spinning uncontrollably. My head starts throbbing as a warm wetness slowly cover the right side of my face. I looked onto the ground and saw red droplets hitting the cracked floor.
*Health: 32/70*
Fuck me.
"Good, you didn't die."
*Girilda is amused. 5 points awarded*
Without thinking, I leap fowards with all my strength, narrowly dodging the kick that decimated the floor behind me. Before I can get back on my feet, Girilda appears in front of me, grabbing my neck before lifting me up with one hand. She looks at me, disappointment filling her eyes.
"Don't tell me this is all you got, Magic boy."
She punches me hard across the face.
*Health: 25/70*
"C'mon, don't make me end this."
She clocks her hand for the second time, but a bright golden flash fills the room.
*Host's stats: (Taekwondo Ascension ×4) (Dobuk ×1.5)
Charisma: 120
Strength: 72
Stamina: 60
Agility: 90
Dexterity: 93
Intelligence: 48
Wisdom: 42
Health: 75/ 210
Mana: 6/6*
I see it coming.
I parry her one fist with one hand before grabbing the wrist that was holding my neck with the other. After I parried her punch, I slam my own fist into the wrist I'm holding, hearing a loud pop as I make impact. Her grip on my neck weakens as her wrist start to creak and pop in weird ways.
Before I can land a second punch to completely break it, she tosses me towards the side.
I turn mid air, sliding as I land on my hands and feet as I pick my self up.
This time she lunges at me before throwing out a fist towards my chin.
I slip left and away, kicking towards her head again as I leaned back. This time, she wasn't as confident as she raised her left hand to block the attack. The momentum of the kick was too great for her too simply tank this time, so using the momentum of my kick, she slightly slipped left before rolling under my kick. Grabbing my leg, she spun me around before releasing me, sending me flying towards a wall.
*Ding*
*Girilda is intrigued. 10 points awarded*
*Health: 70/210*
This time, I can see her running towards me, as I roll to my side before she demolishes the wall behind me.
"Well, Magic Boy, pretty impressive transformation, I honestly haven't seen many like it."
She jumps back towards the middle of the room.
"But you're weak, and I don't believe for a second you can hold onto that power. And besides, even I'm capable of pulling off a gimmick like that."
She lets put a guttural roar, as her body beginning to transform. She hunches fowards gaining a foot in height as her back broadens and rips, revealing spikes that protrude all the down her spine. Her horn sharpens and extends, getting more jagged as she grew.
"Get ready for the final stretch, pretty boy."
I hesitate slightly before standing firm. She's right, because my transformation is just about to run out. I know there's only one way to survive this maniac.
*Ding*
"...I paid my dues." I start.
"...And The price is blood!" Girilda screams, running towards me. Her arms goes for a heavy punch but I easily grab her fist mid air.
*50% Off Coupon spent.*
*250 PPP spent.*
*60 PPP spent*
"Time after time." I pick up a little.
"Wait, are you... singing?" Girilda asks.
She tries to pull her hand back but she's stuck. When she realizes she can't escape my grip, she looks at me with an odd expression-
"I KNEW HE WAS A MAGICAL BOY, I KNEW IT! I'M GOING TO BE SO RICH!" Lafia cries from the stands.
*Ding*
*Quest Completed!*
*Ding*
*Girilda is interested in you*
*65 points awarded*
*Ding*
*Lafia is interested in you*
*30 points awarded*
*Host's stats: (Taekwondo Ascension ×4) (Dobuk ×1.5) (...Do you... Sing? ×2)
Charisma: 240
Strength: 216
Stamina: 120
Agility: 180
Dexterity: 186
Intelligence: 92
Wisdom: 84
Health: 140/ 420
Mana: 12/12*
My hair starts to fall back down as Girilda pulls back her hand from my grip. Her smile grows more dangerous as she takes back a fighting stance. She seems to realize that my powerboost only lasted for an instant.
"Times up, Magical Boy," Girilda taunts.
"I've done my sentence," I reply.
With the 6 additional stat points added to Strength, The two of us seem to be on a similar level of power. If I can outlast the minute cooldown for Taekwondo Ascension, I should be able to overtake her. However, before we could resume our clash, we were interrupted.
"STOP GIRILDA, THIS IS ILLEGAL!" a sharp voice calls out.
We both stop in our tracks to see the source of the shrieking noise. We look up and in the stands of the stadium was an exhausted Minerva gasping for breath.
She jumps down the stage before checking up on me.
"Oh no no no, your face is all bruised up. I'm so sorry about this kiddo. If I knew, I wouldn't have let this happen." She gets her sleeve and tries to wipe the blood off my face, but stops when she see's me wince.
"Minnie, what are you doing here? We're in the middle of an Exam," Girilda asks, slightly irritated .
"Well you got to stop the exam" Minerva replies firmly.
"But why though?" Girilda whines. "Minnie please, I almost got of- I mean we were almost done here."
"Well, I was a little curious about Dean, with him being a transmigrator and potentially the first Magical Boy."
"So what? I still don't see a problem here. Stop beating around the bush and get on with it," Girilda impatiently urges.
"Well, when analysing a person's Magical essence and biological blood, you get some pretty detailed information about them and their lived experience," Minerva continues to explain.
"Yeah? And? I already know this just get to the point" Girilda continues to push.
"Well, it turns out Dean is only sixteen years old. Meaning has another two years before he's even considered an adult and is able to work. Meaning, with this whole fiasco, we just broke several Child Protection Laws," Minerva finishes.
"Wait, sixteen? No, you're kidding?...But I... then he... and then I... But he was so..." Girilda stops before blushing a slight red. She drops to her knees and covers her face.
"Oh Galel, what have I done? A child? But he hits so... and I felt so..." she trails off.
Girilda turns to look at me again, blood still staining the side of my face. I give her a slight apologetic smile. Her face becomes as red as mine before she proceeds to demolish the rest of the poor arena tile she was on in a single punch.
I flinch.
"I uhh, I need to go," Girilda nervously says, standing back up before sprinting out of the arena.
We all just stare in silence as Girilda makes herself scarce, leaving me battered, bruised, and still, jobless.
"Wait, I'm sorry about the confusion, but I really didn't mean to cause any problems," I start to reason. "I'm honestly fine though, and I don't mind working here."
Minnie just sighs. she places a hand on my shoulder.
"Listen, kid, have you heard of child labor laws?" She asked me gently
"Uh, yeah," I reply, "But I'm not a kid. I can work perfectly fine, really. I was just about to pass the Exam," I explain.
Minnie sighs again.
"I know, but we have laws here. You're a little mature for your age, but you're definitely not an adult. You're definitely impressive, but I'm sorry."
This time she places the other hand on my shoulder.
"...You're going to have to go back to school, kiddo."
...
(Less than an hour later)
...
"Have fun at school kid! I'll pick you up at four?"
...
I guess I'm going to school.
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