Nagare: “This is hopeless!”

In rage, he kept slashing with a wooden sword at a large makiwara (Wooden post tied with ropes for training purposes) he found outside.

Since this was the largest branch of the Order, they had many makiwara on the premises. Finding one that was not being used was an easy matter.

For the last couple of days, Nagare kept hopelessly trying to activate his elemental chi to no avail. In the end, all the bottled up frustration led him to keep pummeling the makiwara, using the wooden sword more as a club than slashing weapon.

It was obvious that without a mentor to guide him, Nagare would not be able to advance to the next level of swordsmanship.

What was curious was the fact that he rarely saw Shoyo over all this time, he simply disappeared somewhere.

As for Kai, he was training with Master Masahiro.

Nagare asked Master Masahiro if he could teach him, only to find out it would be impossible. Master Masahiro apparently possessed affinity for lightning and wind chi types, and since Nagare was fire type, Master Masahiro could not help him in that regard.

What was most frustrating was the fact that Master Masahiro was the only one currently in the order who was qualified to teach the level 2 of swordsmanship, since all the available Guardians were on missions. Other people who could have told him were no longer among the living.

It was most inconvenient that Nagare could not have Master Masahiro teach him due to their incompatible chi types.

And Jing Fu would not be of much help for the exact same reason and the fact that he was currently in no shape to fight, much less teach.

Masahiro: “The person who would likely be most helpful to you is the Guardian of Flame”

Nagare: “Except that guy is on a mission with no indication of when he is coming back!”

After beating the makiwara for so long, Nagare was panting heavily.

Nagare: “I really hate this”

Shoyo: “Hey Nagare, what have you been up to?”

Nagare: “Shoyo! I haven’t seen you in days! Where the hell have you been?”

Shoyo: “Oh, about that….I found job?”

Nagare: “What?”

Shoyo: “Apparently they have many children orphaned from the attacks from demons and monsters, and a Guardian of Rain named Shisui is usually there to teach them. But since this Shisui guy is absent, they had none to mentor them, so I kind of, ended up getting carried away”

Nagare: “Teacher, you? Are you even qualified?”

Shoyo: “How rude! I am plenty qualified, thank you very much!”

Shoyo puffed up his nose.

Nagare: “Have you been a teacher before though?”

Shoyo: “I have”

Nagare: “Now that is surprising”

Shoyo: “Yeah, I also took some clothing from this Shisui guy’s room”

Nagare: “What did you steal?!”

Shoyo: “Steal is such a strong word….I merely borrowed his loincloth. See? *Shows Nagare the loincloth*. I will give it back once he returns from his mission….”

Nagare: ‘This Shisui guy is going to kill him’

Nagare: “Well, I might as well visit Guardian of Flame’s place. He might not be there, but perhaps looking around will give me some clues to how I can reach the next level”

* * *

“So you two think you are worthy of being taught by the master Kogeru? I don’t think so!”

The one before them was Guardian of Flame, Meru Kogeru’s self-proclaimed best disciple, a man by the name of Enrou. They were inside of the dojo that belonged to the Guardian of Flames, with Enrou currently as its only occupant.

Shoyo: ‘More like the only disciple’

Nagare: ‘We just asked him about Flame Guardian’s whereabouts. Why did we have to run into a guy like him?’

He was very tall, broad, and muscular. And from the way he spoke, he gave off a rather pretentious if not downright arrogant aura.

Both Nagare and Shoyo found themselves irked from his very presence.

Nagare: “Look, we just want to know a little bit about the Guardian of Flames; that is all”

Enrou: “Unless you can beat me in a duel, my lips are sealed. Not that you are strong enough to do that anyways…”

Nagare: “That’s it! I will destroy you!”

Shoyo: “Nagare, calm down buddy….”

While Nagare was a serious person, he had a very strong and volatile temper. All the rage and disappointment at having a wrong chi affinity and not having a suitable teacher nearby did not help the matters.

Enrou: “I assume you accept my challenge?”

Nagare: “You are on!”

Nagare was about to take his silver sword out, but Enrou tossed him a wooden sword.

Enrou: “You are too weak to face me with a real sword; a wooden sword is good enough”

Nagare: “What did you say?!”

Shoyo: “Nagare, as irritating as he is, he is a human, not a monster”

Nagare: “Fine!”

Taking up the wooden sword, Enrou and Nagare faced off each other, each taking their stances.

Nagare held his sword in both hands, in a standard stance, while Enrou only wielded his with one arm.

Fueled by rage, Nagare was the first to attack.

Much to his frustration, Enrou simply swatted away his attacks like they had no weight.

Slash to head. Countered.

Strike to the body. Blocked.

Strike to the arm. Countered.

This continued on repeatedly, no matter how much Nagare tried to keep fighting.

As Enrou went on the offensive, Nagare could barely keep up; the difference in strength was far too big.

Finally, he resorted to using his chi on his blade to increase the power of his attack.

He was confident that by imbuing his wooden sword with chi, he would have enough power to cut through his opponent’s wooden sword.

But then, his wooden sword’s impact was fully absorbed by his opponent’s blade.

In fact, the clash made more damage on Nagare’s sword.

Nagare: ‘What is going on?’

Shoyo: “*Opens left eye*. So that’s what it is”

Now Enrou raised his sword high and struck Nagare hard, shattering Nagare’s sword into pieces and sending Nagare falling to the floor.

Severely bruised and hurt, Nagare looked at what was in his hand; the stump of what remained of his destroyed sword.

Now, Enrou pointed his blade at Nagare’s throat.

Enrou: “Told you, you are just a weakling”

Shoyo: ‘By using fire type chi, he is able to transmit heat into his sword, increasing the destructive and cutting power of the blade. It seems like he is able to manipulate heat but unable to cause an ignition with his chi. In other words, he is only one step ahead of Nagare’

Nagare clenched his fists but was unable to deny his opponents words.

This loss was humiliating on so many levels. All the pride he secretly had in his skills vanished without a trace, replaced by despair and hopelessness.

How could he ever hope to beat Enrou or much less all the demons if he was so weak?

As Nagare sank deeper into his despair, he heard a voice behind him.

Shoyo: “I guess it’s my turn, then”

Enrou: “The result will be the same”

Enrou tossed him a wooden sword, but Shoyo did not make an effort to pick it up.

Enrou: “Pick up the sword”

Shoyo: “I am not going to need it”

Enrou: “Fool! You will taste defeat!”

As Enrou proceeded to attack Shoyo, Shoyo’s body simply vanished from Nagare’s sight.

It was just a simple dodging movement, but performed at speed that left an afterimage behind.

Too fast for Nagare to see, Shoyo performed three precise strikes: one to the throat, one to the lung, and one to the heart.

In an instant, Enrou got knocked out unconscious, lying on his back while Shoyo stood over him.

Shoyo: ‘I wonder if the Guardian of Flames is a terrible teacher or this idiot is just a hopeless student’

Enrou was lucky to only receive one strike to the heart. Single strike could knock a person out, two strikes could cause paralysis or stroke, and three strikes meant certain death.

Nagare: “What did you do?”

Shoyo: “Simple strikes to the acupuncture points”

Nagare: “Acupuncture?”

Shoyo: “My first profession was a doctor”

Nagare: “Shoyo, just how many professions have you had?”

Shoyo: “I did bunch of things over the years, by now, I have lost track”

Nagare: “Never mind. At least now I know this was a dead end”

Shoyo: “Hopefully the Guardian of Flames is not as foolish as his disciple”

Nagare: “But he did have a point, I am too weak”

Shoyo: “Count the chickens by the fall, Naga-kun”

Nagare: “What does that supposed to mean?!”