Sirius Chapter 20: Chapter 19: Unlocked

Read chapter 20 of Sirius by Dealer on NovelPedia.

"AGAIN!" Bum A heavy thud rang out from inside one of the training rooms. "Harder!" A woman's voice shouted. Bum "I said, HARDER!" Bumm "That's better." Inside the room, a young man knelt on the floor, trying desperately to pull air back into his lungs. "What's the matter? Already tired?" "N... no, miss!" The young man answered and immediately stood up for the next strike. Bum After some time, the sound stopped. The woman looked down at the boy sprawled on the floor. "The big day is finally here. How do you feel, Jihan?" "Tir... ed. Very tired," Li replied, laughing. "If you have energy to laugh, maybe we should keep going." The woman smiled, a glint of mischief in her eyes as she looked at him. "Though I have to admit, you really did improve remarkably fast. I didn't even believe you could push yourself this far." "I had a good teacher." Sitting up after catching some breath, Li continued. "So; do you think I'll do well?" "Hard to say. I don't have a clear read on how strong the participants are this year, but going by the average, I'd put you comfortably in the top ten." "Only top ten?" "Don't get cocky, boy. You're strong for where you're at, but never underestimate your opponents. There's more to people than what your eyes can see." She scolded. "Either way, you should get going; the mana flow unlocking starts in an hour." "Won't being this exhausted be a problem?" "Don't worry; we just need to top up the mana in your hand meridians one last time. Beyond that, physical fatigue shouldn't interfere much with the process." Sitting on the floor, Amelie extended her hands in front of her, palms up. Jihan did the same, facing her. Within seconds, a blue glow appeared in the woman's hands and began flowing into Li's. He seemed to feel a faint sting, but adjusted quickly. After a few minutes, the director released him. "Alright; you're ready to go." "Thank you for everything you've done for me." "What's this? It's not goodbye; make sure you come back so we can keep training!" "Ye... yes, miss!" Smiling, Jihan stood with some difficulty, bowed, pulled on a shirt, and left. As she watched him pass through the door, Amelie's expression settled into something quieter. "What's going to happen now..." * * * Elsewhere, at the same time, a rain of arrows fell on a single man, one after another. The blond dodged most of them, and the few he couldn't were deflected at the last instant, as if brushed aside by an invisible hand. It looked entirely one-sided and fully under his control; yet his opponent wasn't making it easy for him. Then the wave of arrows stopped. "Giving up already? That's not like you, Akemi." The blond provoked. "I don't know what you're talking about." The half-elf stood still. "You really think that's going to work?" Michael tilted his head slightly to the left; a moment later, an arrow that had been coming from behind passed to his right. Tsk Akemi clicked her tongue. "You're still too predictable," the man said, mocking her. The moment he finished speaking, his eyes widened. The woman smiled and fired a single arrow slightly above his head; fast enough to intercept the one already dropping silently from above. "So, still think I'm not ready?" "I really am a fantastic teacher," he said, shamelessly proud. * * * Some time later, Li arrived at the plaza where the announcement was to be made. After a few minutes, a group of people stepped forward to face all the participants. Among them was Liming. "Good morning, everyone. My name is Ya Shen; for those who don't know me, I'm the person overseeing this trial." A tall man with an average build, long black hair, and a light stubble appeared before the crowd. His voice was deep but unhurried; in no way did he carry the presence of a leader. In fact, the man radiated nothing at all: no warmth, no threat, no weight. He seemed, in the strangest sense, invisible. And yet every fighting instinct in Jihan's body fired at once, a cold and wordless warning to tread carefully around h