“The last part of the exam will be a sparring match. You won’t be judged on weather you win or not, but in how you perform as a whole, so keep that in mind!”
Inside of B group a number of people with similar strengths started pairing up against one another. Apparently you were allowed to use weapons, so people carried different weapons ranging from wooden swords or poles, to wooden tonfas.
As far as I could tell, there didn’t appear to be anyone strong. Just as I was thinking who I should pick as my opponent, my number was called out.
“B-186! Come forward!”
As I approached the centre of the room I could see a woman walking towards me from the opposite side. It seems like she would be my opponent.I thought that since she’s a girl I’d have doubts about fighting her, however the atmosphere in the room felt strange.
The whole room became filled with whispering noises. Looking at her up close, my opponent had tied up her long black hair, and was putting on a fearless expression. She looked calm but the air around her told me that she was not to be taken lightly.
“My name’s Wan! I’ll be fighting you bare handed, so feel free to come at me whenever!”
‘I see, so this person is Suzaku’s leader… Wan Xin Yi!’
I decided to used Appraisal on her
Monk Lv64
HP 646/646MP 120/120
Strength 580
Defense 328
Magic Defense 210
Agility 1382
Dexterity 87
Wisdom 66
Luck 68
[Class Skills]
Martial Arts Rank A
Healing Rank C
Chi Control Rank B
[Skills] [Magic]
Agility Increase (VI) Healing Magic (III)
Strengthening Magic (VII)
‘She’s quite strong… Even though she has only 3 Class Skills her status growth is way bigger compared to mine when using Class Slates. I guess one’s innate talent does make a difference…’
Just as she said, she took on a fighting stance, without holding any weapons. In that case I decided to do the same.
“I’m Gojo! I’ll go bare handed as well.”
Wan’s lips curved up a bit after which she took one step forward. She managed to close the distance between us in an instant!! From what I heard from Shimizu, apparently in China Wan was a famous master of a martial arts know as Xing Yi Quan. But still considering the difference in our status, even if I take her attack head on I probably won’t sustain any damage… Thinking that I blocked Wan’s punch.
Her fist embedded itself deep into my arm!!
‘It hurts!!’
Pain greater than what I had imagined was running through my whole arm!
‘What the… The pain feels like it’s gouging out my insides!?’
Looking at the Wan who took one step back I could see that there was some kind of dim Aura surrounding her whole body…
‘Could this possible by Chi?
She was probably able to damage me due to combining that Aura with Strengthening Magic.’
Up until now I thought that Strengthening Magic could only be used to harden things, so seeing it being used like this, doesn’t that meant that if I master Chi Control I’d probably be able to do something similar as well?
Wan kicked the ground, and once again closed the distance beginning to throw punches and kicks at me! There weren’t any unnecessary movements!!
◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇
The first time I saw this man was when he punched the strength meter the exact same way the guy before him had punched it. However it looked like he had adjusted his power a bit so that he could punch it just slightly harder… Only people with extraordinary skill are able to do that!
And now that I saw him like this I could tell that there was clearly something strange about him. To me he looked like he’s hiding his true power.
So the only way I could find out the truth was by fighting him. As far as I can tell he has yet to learn how to properly use his Chi Control’s Aura, but even without it he’s still blocking my attacks.
You don’t see people as strong as him in Suzaku that often!! This guy’s amusing after all!!!
◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇
I was completely focused on defense as Wan continued hammering away at me, not giving me even a slight breather! During the attack I lost my balance for a second. Without failing to see that slight gap, Wan immediately went in for a strong attack. At that moment the amount of Aura covering her whole body suddenly skyrocketed!!
I felt that I had to guard as best as I could I crossed my arms in front of me. In the next moment…
“Stop there!! That’s enough!”
The supervisor stopped the match. The room was still bustling with noises and whispers.
“Wan is amazing after all. Just following her movements took everything out of me!”
“That Japanese dude… All he could do was defend. I feel sorry for him…”
“Why? To be honest I think he’s gonna be fine, I mean he stood standing until the end.”
I could hear a lot of different opinions going around, but would I really be able to pass with just this?
‘I’m worried.’
◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇
“How was he Wan?”
The Vice Leader Ryu Zu Hao asked Wan.
“I broke a sweat for the first time in a while. That man, he’s still hiding his true power…”
“I guess it’s settled then! We’ll need all the help we can get in dealing with the BOSS”
In the end Gojo coupled with 3 more people were the only ones that passed the exam on that day, and the following day they were immediately sent out to help look for the BOSS.
