Chapter 3: The Girl with High potential
Arcon and a girl are having a sword fight under a tree with black leaves. It was called the black lavender; it wasn't an uncommon tree but was quite unique. It can slowly replenish the energy of the people under it. It was a perfect spot for training. The girl hits him with the wooden sword, and he falls to the ground.
"You lose again", she chuckled as she spoke. Her beautiful red hair flowed elegantly with the wind and her deep red-brown eyes made her look like she could do the impossible. She tries to strike him, but he rolls away and gets on his feet.
Name: Shina Stormwalt
Ego: Destruction (^sword manship^)
Inherent talent: Wind whispers
It's been eight years since that day, but I clearly remember it. My mother didn't care anyway, she still showered me with much love and care. Dad also tried his best, but the war only intensified so I got to see little of him.
Lyn and Korag live in a lavishing fashion, one I truly got to enjoy. I still feel bad as my two younger ones, Yun and Luca, managed to get wonderful egos just like our parents. I decided to train hard to cover up for my loss but still, luck? Still can't wrap my head around it.
He barely dodges the last attack as he's dragged back to reality. She continues barging him with attacks as he backs out still trying to dodge. She steps back and weirdly twists the sword. Arcon knew what was coming for him but was already trapped. She thrusts the sword at him as the wind backs her up adding to her force and speed.
He knows it is over and spreads his hands as though he accepted death. He takes one step back but trips on a stone and falls. He is surprised as to what has just happened, but he is happy as he'd rather fall than get hit with that finishing attack that may knock him out.
She on the other hand is confused as her mind could only process the fact that she is going to crash to the ground. She tried to steady her balance but to no avail, as he crashed on top of him. She felt a soft warm sensation spread throughout her body.
Her brain finally processes what has just happened. She immediately springs to her feet and slaps him. Arc is left dumbfounded as he touches his lips.
"That was my first kiss", a smile subconsciously spreads across his face. Once she notices, her face turns bright red as she looks away from him with her hands clenched. " Can't believe I just gave him my first kiss", she clenches her fists tighter as she picks up her sword.
"Don't ever bring this topic to light or even think about it. If not", she turns and glares at him," You won't see the light of day again ". She starts to walk away but says one more thing," Consider yourself lucky. This won't ever happen again ".
Arcon stares at her as she walks away. He wonders if she spoke of the kiss or the fact, he dodged her attack. He shrugs it off as his mind focuses on just one thing now. How perfect Shina's lips are.
If he is to rate her looks, it would be an easy ten then boosted with her confidence and skill. He reckons that she'll be a top beauty, but he failed to notice something as she left. Once she was out of sight, she touched her lips as her face became redder." How can he be so dumb? I almost lost my composure and kissed back", she leaned on the wall and sighed" How or when did this happen?" She just smiles and goes to her room.
Her dad was a friend of Korag and was allowed to stay with them together with his family. She's lived in this vast compound for 5 years. She also decided to help Arcon in his swordsmanship training. At first, she did not agree but after constant begging and pestering. She finally gave in and practiced with him. Sometimes, Lyn and her father, Meldon, often helped with their training.
Arcon sits down on the grass as the fresh breeze brushes through his hair. He enjoys the view at this hour and would often spend hours basking in the pretty sunset. He never once liked staying alone because it always reminded him of his past and how useless he was but then a stupid grin appeared on his face." Luck sure has its perks", he said as his mind went back to the kiss." That was awesome ", he thought as he laid down for a while before he dozed off.
He is awakened by one of the maids. He sits up and looks at her. He could see her lips move but not hear what she was saying. He stands up and dusts himself. He finally notices the dark sky that enveloped them." Is dinner ready.?" He asked the maid as he gave his head a nice whack.
That's when he remembers. He had to get going in preparation for the big day which is tomorrow. He runs past some buildings until he reached a manor that looked kind of old due to design. He ran inside and he greeted all the people that walked past him. He finally reached the dinner table where he saw the lavishing feast awaiting him.
As he sat down about to dig in, he felt an ominous feeling. He looked up and saw Shina looking at him with a smile on her face. He was really scared, and that smile wasn't helping matters. Dinner goes by smoothly as Mom pitched in some minor conversation. Arcon quickly ran to his room as others looked at him." He's just excited about the ball that comes up tomorrow ", Lyn announced." Pretty sure he's just excited about the food", Meldon, Shina's father said as they all laughed.
The next day tagged along quickly. Arcon was standing in front of the mirror, checking out his looks. He wasn't the kind of guy with a face to die for. He saw himself as an above-average guy. "Not too handsome, not ugly,", he said as he smiled to himself. Though the 'ball' was to be held in the evening, he wasn't one bit in anticipation for it. Rather, he found himself excited for another matter entirely. In less than a week, a special instructor will come to teach you. His mother's words reverberated in his head. His siblings would get theirs earlier due to their outstanding egos, but he was just happy to finally get one.
After breakfast, he helps around the house a bit before he goes to the field to train. Once he arrives, he sees Shina practicing martial arts as usual. Shina didn't need to hire an instructor because her father and she had the same ego. He decided to be her teacher as her talent was easy to use.
" Up and early, Shina", he walks towards her as she stops and faces him.
" You want to spar?" She smirks as she cracks her knuckles.
" Why not", he said. Deep down he knew that she has him beat in every aspect, but he wouldn't turn a chance down to face her.
He takes a "Chinese horse stance" while she takes a "Muay Thai stance".
" So, you're still dancing around ", he goes down a bit as he tries to follow her movement.
Before he could react, she was already at his front and palms his chest causing him to stagger. She delivers a reverse crescent kick which connects. She follows up with a palm strike on his gut. She goes below him and hits his chin with her palm sending him into the air. She does a round kick, hooking his neck with her feet and slamming him into the ground. Immediately he lands, and she finishes off with a fast jab on his chest. He lands on the floor in defeat.
To him, the match had ended before it even started. This wasn't new to him as he has never won even once against her. She stretched out her hand with a corny smile on her face, " You lost again ". He takes her hand but has a mischievous grin on his face. He musters his strength and flings her over as she lands on the ground.
He stands up and chuckles," Guess I was the last man standing".
She looks at him and smiles," You think so", he suddenly finds himself on the floor. They look at each other and laugh. They continue their training until evening drew close. They were both exhausted, so they just sat by the tree.
Lola, one of the maids, approaches them and tells them to go prepare for the ball. They both grumble but leave anyway. An hour later, they were all dressed and heading towards the location.
" Do I really have to wear this?" he asked as he looked at the dress in disgust.
She nods and replies," It's standard for these meetings. Can't you see how good you look in the royal robe and look at my dear Luca", she carries him in the air and smiles as he giggles. Luca was three while Yun was five. Yun at such a young age acted a bit too mature. It feels off but he wasn't going to prey. The rest of the journey was just ideal chatter between them.
It wasn't long before we got to the elegant building, it was nothing short of glamorous and dreamlike. The building was huge and adorned with decorations. People wearing elegant royal dresses walked all around. Arcon found himself sweating a bit, he wasn't used to this yet.
Lyn notices this and rubs his back," You'll be alright, okay sweetie ". Lyn wore a sexy, black, sleeveless gown that showed off her amazing curves." Sometimes I wish she wasn't my mother", he sighs as the thought comes to him. They proceed into the hall which was more breath-taking than outside. Soon after they all began to mingle with others except for Arcon who just stood in a corner watching as everyone works their magic here and there.
"Wonder why I'm even here?" He sees Shina, who is wearing a sparkling blue gown and matching gloves. She looked cute in the outfit, but he dares not say if he wants to keep breathing. He just stays there watching the crowd mingle. He feels a tap on his shoulder as he jolted forward. He turns and sees a pretty, red-skinned girl with long dark hair and piercing dark eyes. She was slightly taller than him and a bit older. She carried a certain charm that attracted him. He then notices her red gown embroidered with emeralds.
"You're Arcon, right?" her voice was commanding but also had a charm to it. He just nods as he tries to piece together what is happening.
Name: Crystal Del Monre
Ego: Absolute destruction
Inherent talent: Shadow energy <dark mana>
He tried to speak but she raises a finger making him fall silent." My name is Crystal from the family of Del Monre. That's all you should know for now. Let's take the conversation outside first", she starts walking to the exit and he follows suit. Shina sees this and decides to tag along.
Once they arrived at the courtyard just behind the house." So, what do you want from....", he barely dodges the punch which was aimed at his face? She follows with a kick, but he trips on his feet and falls forward as the kick breezes across his neck. <Dark sphere> A ball of shadow energy forms at her palm. She runs towards him and is about to strike his chest with the ball on her palm when a force pushes him away from the line of attack." Are you an assassin or something? ", he asks, clearly taken aback by her actions.
She looks at him and then throws the energy ball at him. He tries to block with his arm crossed but it pushes him back as he crashes into a fluffy pillow. He quickly jumps away as many shadows ball destroy the pillow causing a small explosion. He stands and dusts his shirt.
"Screw this", he darts towards her. She points a finger at him <Scatter shot>. She blasts a beam of shadow energy that multiples into many and heads towards him. He manages to dodge most of them. She's about to strike again but a gust of wind pushes her towards him. He uses that opportunity to palm her chest with all his might. She crashes to the ground as he falls to his knees.
"What's your deal, Miss Crystal", he asks with a hint of anger in his voice. She stands up and dusts herself then looks at him." Boring", those were her last words before she left. He just stands there dumbfounded, "Just my luck". Shina comes out of her hiding place and storms towards him. He could sense death lingering in the air as he began moving back a little.
She quickens her pace until he's backed against the wall, and she's close to him.
" What were you thinking? You couldn't even beat me much less her. Did you have a death wish?" He tries to speak but he sees the anger in her eyes and just stares at her in confusion. She looks at him in disbelief.
"Don't tell me you don't know who she is?" He shakes his head as she sighs. She explains who she is. Fear struck him at once as he listens to her, he explained what brought them to the situation. "What does someone like her want with a loser like you?"
Normally, he would have retorted but now he was too shocked." What's that type of monster doing with me?"
"I hope we never meet again."
"JUST MY LUCK!", he screamed.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone