Dream of the Guardians I-1: Rising

Chapter 9 - Presentation

It has been several days since Chris and his companions arrived to Heinburn kingdom, Hanna and Tsubaki were walking around the city to pass the time until the date of the tournament, the two of them became close enough to talk openly while Guilian was training inside the Colosseum, where the fights will take place, because many of the participants, to try to be in the best conditions, do practice fights in the last days before the big event.

One day before the tournament, on a plain on the outskirts of the city, Chris was training with the young blacksmith's grandmother, an old woman named Xian Tao, with the strict policy of staying 10 meters away from her because of his "curse". She was somewhat impressed with the ease with which he etched into his body the habits of perceiving with it.

"You have some experience in this." Xian Tao said, being the first compliment to Chris, "The more trained your body is, the easier it is to awaken the notion of ki. Who trained you, kid?"

Chris tries to follow the postures, to do it fluidly, without tension in the muscles, maintaining a constant rhythm in the breathing. "Be like water, formless, in constant flux and change." Despite being an adept of Earth, he has the facility to learn very quickly with his body.

"Actually, I trained with two teachers, who handed me the sword taught me to be a warrior." Chris replies as he remembers his last four years training tirelessly, "My second teacher taught me martial arts, always emphasizing me to follow the flow of the wind."

«Four years? It seems as if his body has trained for decades and considering how young he is, he's brimming with life force, he is more terrifying than those creatures of the night. » Xian Tao thinks as she observes Chris very closely, «If he gets to dig up the secrets of ki, he will be unstoppable, a real monster. »

Having trained for days without much rest, without his instructor practicing what he learned until he does it instinctively, she gives him the go-ahead that he has managed to "perceive" the ki, barely, but he is still far from "using it" and Chris runs away to register first thing in the morning of the competition. His companions are surprised to see him made a mess, not even the clothes were neat and immediately Tsubaki takes him to the bathrooms of the Colosseum to clean up and give a good first impression.

The hot waters relax his worn muscles, and, in the meantime, the playoffs begin. Due to the alarming number of participants, it was decided to divide them into blocks of 100 people and the winners shall clash in duels 1 against 1 until they reach the top. Chris, Guilian and Tsubaki were in different blocks among the 8 in total. Another rule is that participants are not allowed to watch the other bouts, even in the playoffs.

Having just started the bath, Chris does not worry about being late because his block is the last one and then, a huge tremor is felt throughout the structure, even brisk Chris' skin while drying his hair. Battle royale of the first block, the whole public was speechless to witness a crushing victory, just after a couple of minutes the field was burned, and all the adepts were in terrible conditions while a man stood up with an expression that says "not worth my time" in all the face.

The presenter announces the first victory of the playoffs, the man with black hair, clothes from the East and an ironic look that would freeze the blood of any experienced warrior, according to his inscription form, by the data entered, is shouted to the four winds: Fire Adept, one of the Six Lords, Fist of Dragon Ryuken.

All people start to get out of control knowing that one of the six most powerful adepts in the world, both individually and collectively, is right in the center with the intention of fighting. Immediately the bugles sound everywhere with a characteristic tune, the queen, Alice Heinburn XVI, addresses a few words: