Chapter 39: Chapter 39: A NEW ARC

Today was the day.

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The sound of swarms of footsteps crowded the village streets as children that looked to be about 13-18 filled the roads, all walking along the cobblestone path and going straight ahead with their destination clearly in mind.

The sky was wide awake as the day had just started, and onlookers could be seen peeking from their windows and even along the roadside.

Some merchants, shoppers, and workers temporarily stopped their work to watch the crowd.

Among this large group were Oz and Zee.

The pair was snuggled within the group of hundreds of their peers and on their way to their destination.

As the two walked, Oz thought back to the conversation from the night before.

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"Are ye ready for the tournament?" Nana asked the boys.

"Of course!" the 2 confidently replied as cheers from the children around with full mouths rang out, splattering bits of food along the table.

Nana gave a reassuring toothy smile.

Her brown sugar eyes glimmered with a mysterious light, "Now, I'm sure ye got questions, Oz."

'Finally,' Oz thought to himself.

Over the coming days, he had been playing this little game of "house," trying his best to fit in this environment and gain the trust of these strangers, though not even for one second would he even trust his back turned to a single one of them.

'Not even these little rats,' Oz thought to himself as he snuck a gaze at a child heftily devoured a bone of meat twice as large as its head.

However, that wasn't a pressing issue at this moment as a bright smile showed on Oz's face, "I-I do, Nana!"

She tilted her head at him as if allowing him to speak.

"What exactly is this academy?" Oz grasped his chin and looked up to the ceiling, showing a look of contemplation as he continued, "I mean, I know it's a famous place, but why can't you just teach us?"

"Yeh!" Zee interjected, "I mean, didn't you scare away that guy?"

Oz glanced over.

Though Zee had been unconscious during the whole debacle, Oz had told him about what had happened during their training sessions.

While their training sessions had been composed of mostly bodyweight exercises and both light and heavy spars, Nana had given her input on what to do and even when to rest.

Needless to say, even Oz had felt the benefits.

She was definitely the real deal, but certainly more than just an Orphanage owner.

Oz inwardly creased his eyes at her as the boys awaited her response, 'who are you really, Nana?'

Nana, however, just laughed, alerting the table, "ohohohohooo", tears began falling from her eyes as if she had just heard the funniest joke ever, "hohohohohooo."

Finally, her laughter died down as she rubbed her eyes and glanced at the two with soft smiles, "ay, a simple lady like me's got no business teachin' ya 2 young men."

Zee opened his mouth to interject, "But-"

"No butts," she cut him off, "you already agreed to this, Zee. And you, Oz."

The two locked eyes, "Ye say ya wanna learn about the world. My answer is, go find it at the academy."

Nana stretched out her hands to her side, causing the floor to splice open and tendrils of wood to lurch from out of the floor, making a scene similar to that of an autumn tree behind her.

The clattering of silverware was silenced as everyone at the table stared in silence.

This woman truly was extraordinary.

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Now in the present time, Oz and Zee continued along the road, having left early in the morning before the sky had fully bloomed.

As such, the two were a bit ahead of the crowd and were in no rush to arrive.

Oz began to contemplate, 'is it magic in this world? Or is it something more?'

Bump

Awakening him from his thoughts was a large, brown-cloth-covered back that was incredibly sturdy.

As the owner of what looked like a full-grown man in front of him.

"Grrrr..."

The man turned around with his dull black eyes deadset on the par, as his brown hair and scruffy beard gave him an intimidating look, "watch where you're goin' punks!"

Yet, the man, or rather the boy's voice, didn't match his appearance as the two almost burst out into giggles upon hearing the high-pitch voice that could fit a 10-year-old.

Whether this individual was 8 or 18, the boys couldn't tell, and this... man, upon seeing their reaction began to flare up.

A sinister aura oozed from him, "somethin' funny?"

Oz's eyes shone a subtle golden glint as this man-child prepared to attack.

"Oy, no messin' about!" a stern voice called out.

The boy's attention was all pulled by a man donning silver armor with the usual green jewel atop the helmet.

He was lined up next to other guards along the street, who all shot threatening gazes over.

Obviously, it'd be best not to get on their bad side just before the competition.

The man-child growled at Zee and Oz once more, "grrr, just you wait. Best hope we don't meet." he turned around and faced the front of the line that was slowly chugging onwards.

Time dripped on slowly and monotonously, barely helped by the boy's conversations with one another and reviewing battle strategies once more before this tournament began.

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Finally, after some time, the pair nearly reached the front of the line.

The line led into a massive colosseum-style stadium so high it hurt the boy's neck, just trying to look all the way to the top.

Even Zee, as a native of this area, had hardly been here, and it showed in his reaction.

Both were barely able to let out a single word, "Woah."

Up at the front was a plump man donned in silver armor with no helmet, who rolled his eyes at the all-too-common reaction from these piss-poor brats.

As they walked forward, they saw a brief glow ahead of the man-child in front of them before he was instructed inside.

Startled by the light, the boy's continued forward and came face to face with the fatso.

He had oily brown hair and a messy unshaved look to his flushed, waxy face, truly a man-baby if the boys had ever seen one.

He was sitting in a cushioned chair in front of a wooden table with a translucent orb atop it.

Funnily enough, one could tell he was a high-ranking officer, not only because he got to sit whilst all his surrounding men were standing on patrol but because his armor looked to be custom-made.

While all the men around seemed fit with their silver armor overlapping over their muscular bodies, this man somehow seemed to slush that entire GIRTHY belly inside that suit.

"I've never seen a belly so big before," Zee subconsciously mumbled.

"What was that brat?" the man's green eyes lit up in a rage, and the surrounding men straightened their backs, obviously afraid of their superior.

By their reaction alone, Oz knew he was nothing to scoff at.

'Guess in this world, fatso's can actually be dangerous...' Oz thought to himself as he came forward with the most innocent smile he could muster, "Hehe, he was talking about this stadium. We've never seen a building so big."

Zee shook his head with a nervous smile, leaving it to his friend to get him out of this one.

The armored fatso peeled his eyes at the pair, obviously not convinced.

Nonetheless, Oz heard him swear under his breath, "fukers'll die anyways..."

With that, the fatso pushed the orb forward and spoke, "put ye hands on."

'What is this?' Oz wondered as Zee spoke out excitedly.

"Woah! Is this one of those measuring orbs? I've never seen these be-" the fatso cut him off, rubbing his droopy eyes; apparently, sitting down at a table was exhausting.

"Yehyeh, just put ya hand on the orb."

The boys looked at one another before Oz gestured for Zee to go first.

'I wonder...' Oz thought to himself, 'now that I have this "Evolved System," how will my power be recorded?'

As he was about to open his system, a yell interrupted him.

Oz quickly gazed at Zee to ensure everything was alright and was shocked by what he saw, or rather, lack thereof.

An excruciatingly bright light beamed from the orb, nearly causing him to topple over.

WOOOOOOSH!!!

Finally, as Oz regained his vision, he saw the man's mouth was stuttering, barely able to form a cohesive sentence, "i-i- p-osi- -th- spo- not-"

The streets were silent.

The guards and surrounding onlookers, both waiting participants and spectators, watched slack-jawed in awe.

Zee, who was now shocked and a bit embarrassed, quickly removed his hands and backed away from the table.

Oz quickly composed himself and came forward, trying his best to assess the situation, as he asked the fatso, "what just happened?"

"Heheheh," the fatso, who had now regained his composure, began talking down to Oz, albeit with a bit more respect, "heh, your friend is truly blessed by Yala."

The surrounding crowd of spectators cheered in excitement as this year's tournament would be exciting, while the waiting participants groaned nervously, knowing they may face this absolute monster.

"BUT." the armored pig sputtered out, "can the same be said for you?" as he gently slid the orb across the table and towards Oz, a tad bit of respect and intrigue was in his eyes.

Wondering if the close companion to such a gifted individual would bare similar results.

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NEXT CHAPTER THE TOURNAMENT BEGINS!

WHAT WILL IT ENTAIL, YOU SHALL SEE!

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