Chapter 6: 4 Years

Bandit's Home - Forest, Unknown

A blurry figure sped through the forest, jumping from one tree branch to another. The figure made no noise and each tree branch it stepped on was miraculously unperturbed. The only audible sound in the forest was the strong yet calming spring breeze.

The figure jumped in a circular pattern until it slipped on a wet surface of a tree branch. It swiftly recovered in midair and landed on a lower tree branch. The tree branch shook causing wet dews to fall along with a few leaves.

“Damn…”

The figure cursed as it carefully examined the branch it slipped on and muttered, “Forgot that it rained yesterday.”

“AHHH!”

It prepared to jump back on a higher tree branch and continue its routine until a sudden scream unsettled the forest. The figure looked towards the source of the scream and head towards it in curiosity.

Maintaining a consistent height on the tree branches, a girl and a boar soon came into view. The boar was the same size as the girl but was considerably more fearsome. It’s nostrils flared and no matter how much the girl screamed it was unrelenting in its pursuit. The figure increased its speed, heavily shaking each tree branch it propelled off of. A gleam appeared on its right hand.

Suddenly, the girl’s foot tangled itself on a vine and she tumbled into the side of a tree trunk. The boar stopped a few meters from the girl and lowered it head, displaying it’s sharp and long tusks. It flexed its hind legs and pounced with a squeal.

The girl gave a final whimper and closed her eyes. She hugged an inconspicuous object and turned around, preparing to take the blow with her back. The moment before the boar reached the girl, the figure landed on the ground and precisely slashed the tender flesh in the back its hind leg with a knife.

The boar immediately squealed in pain and stumbled, missing the girl. The figure followed up by stabbing the knife into its brain before it could recover. It gave a slight shudder, then silently fell to the ground like a puppet without its strings.

The bloodshed happened in seconds and, due to her eyes being closed, the girl only heard the sound of the boar squealing. Confused on her lack of pain, she slowly opened her eyes and turned around. She saw the corpse of the boar and a young boy with his arms crossed. She smiled at the boy and the boy smiled back. The boy had jet black hair and eyes, and was a bit taller than a meter. The girl had black eyes and stood at the same height but had blazing red hair.

The boy casually formed a knuckle with his free and proceeded to rap her over the crown of her head.

“Ow! What was that for Kai”, the girl whined as she rubbed her head while frowning. The blow was light but she feigned pain for a chance at sympathy.

“This is the second time”, Kai sighed. He did not fall for her fake show of pain and glanced at the small white animal in her arm. “Of course, it’s because you stole another beast’s food again.”

“But how could I let that mean ugly boar eat this”, she insisted as she grabbed the animal with both of her hands and thrusted it in front of his face. Upon a closer look, he identified the animal as a small white fox.

“Isn’t she cute?”

The fox curled up and looked at him with wide bubbly eyes. Kai surrendered a light smirk at the theatrics of the fox. “Okay, but this has to be the last time. What if I’m not here next time? Promise me it’ll be the last time.”

The girl played with the fox, pretending not to hear him. When Kai was about to repeat himself, a voice called out in the distance. “Kai, Jen, are you guys here? Teresa is looking for us.”

“Oh looks like Mark- err- Teresa is looking for us”, Jennifer avoided with a smile. She instantly stood, glad to successfully dodge his question, and ran towards Mark’s voice.

This girl…

Forgetting about the dead game, he slightly shook his head at Jennifer’s actions and headed back to their house.

Jennifer… Mark…

They were the two babies that grew up with Kai. Four years passed and now they were all around the age of five. The day they spoke full sentences was the day that the Sandy and the girls asked them to name themselves. Jennifer and Mark decided their names from suggestions and Jen became her nickname, but Kai felt more comfortable in retaining his prior name.

When they were old enough to be allowed out of the house, Kai immediately planned to isolate himself and fully commit to training. He was never good at socializing so the thought never came to mind. In his past life, the longest conversation he had was the moment he accepted a target to eliminate. As a result, his closest friends were his guns and knives.

As he grew up, however, the other children did not leave him alone. He initially found them unnecessary then it dawned on him that if he was nearly leading the same life as before. Determined to change he began to interact with them and, through the passage of time, grew fond of them. The time he spent with Jennifer and Mark helped him slowly adapt to his recovered emotions while they discovered their own.

Teresa was another person he felt especially fond of. Being the person that raised him from his infancies, he felt an invisible attachment towards her.

Kai was not the only one that felt this way as, throughout the years, she became the undeniable leader amongst the children. She was not incredibly strong but she was strong-willed and intelligent. She learned quickly and would often become a teacher to the children whenever they were confused on a matter. One of her teachings to Kai confirmed his idea of existing in another world.

He was taught that they currently resided in Jade Empire, in a bordering forest near the ocean. Together with the Tao Empire, the two lands formed a single continent. There existed two other continents in the world but Teresa did not know the names of either. The names escaped the knowledge of the adults as well so Kai could only settle with knowing the two empires.

He felt a bit disappointed from the gap of information but he learned another substantial fact. Within the new world existed profound and mysterious energies known as Qi and Ki. Cultivating and harnessing the power of the energies enabled people to strengthen themselves and perform acts that would be impossible in his past life.

The people that were able to absorb and cultivate Ki were classified as Taoists. The power of Ki enabled them to harden their bodies to abnormal lengths. The stories ranged from being capable of destroying mountains and having skin as hard as diamonds.

Qi was more complex. Daoists are the people that are able to absorb and cultivate Qi and they use its power to bend various elements to their will. The elements broke down into seven elements; Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Lightning, Light and Dark. Powerful Daoists were even able to manipulate multiple elements. The general public valued Daoists over Taoists because of their potential and diversity in abilities were greater.

Their stories were far more bizarre as well. In the tales, legendary Daoists would conjure tsunamis and tornados, controlling the weather with a thought. They would soar through the skies and topple cities with a simple wave of their hands.

Kai grew intoxicated with the stories and lost all previous thoughts of disbelief. His pursuit of strength had been singular and he had no definitive goal but the potential in the new world ignited a determination in him that did not exist in his past life. Without meaning, he wanted to see how far his strength could reach.

Much to his disappointment, however, he was unable to cultivate before the age of five. He was told that if he cultivated before he was five, the Qi or Ki would overwhelm his body and cause it to explode. Not banking on another life, Kai played it safe and waited until he was five.

He, however, remained diligent all the while. During the four years he continued to practice Silent Steps to the limit of his young body. He first practiced walking in silence, then jogging, and gradually advanced to running.

One afternoon he ran into a wild raccoon. Animals he saw in this world were similar to those in his past life but were far more ferocious, resulting in them being classified as beasts. The raccoon was slightly larger than the ones he remembered and its claws and teeth were considerably larger.

The moment the raccoon laid eyes on him it snarled, showing its two long fangs. Kai immediately accessed the situation and a cluster of scenarios crossed his mind within a second. He was confident in fighting the raccoon bare handed but recognized he would not leave unscathed. The raccoon had an advantage with its sharp teeth while he lacked a single weapon.

Deciding against the unfavorable conditions, he turned tail and ran. His achievements in Silent Steps were minimal so he thought of another method of escape. He sprinted past the trees, carefully using them as coverage, and pulled out bunches of purple berries. The berries were to sustain his hunger while he trained but at the moment, they were the key to his escape. He violently smashed the berries around his body then softly hid himself behind a nearby tree.

The raccoon stopped chasing and glanced around in confusion. It raised its nose into the air, attempting to track Kai, but came up with nothing. The smell of the berries completely masked the scent he gave off as a human. The raccoon growled in frustration before retreating deep into the forest. He waited a few more minutes before he sighed, realizing that he had a problem; he was unarmed in a forest filled with wild beasts.

In desperate need of a weapon, he quickly thought of a place to obtain one.

The following midnight Kai crept up against the wall of a wooden house; the Watcher’s house. After careful thought, he figured that even if taking a weapon aroused their suspicions, there was no way to connect it to him if he left no traces behind.

With the experience of his past life, he soundlessly snuck inside the house with ease. A candle was half lit on a table, clearly defining the facial features of the Watchers. The Watchers slept separately on a bed against opposite walls. There was a single short table besides each of their beds with an assortment of their belongings on its surface.

Kai quickly examined the contents of the house and found what he needed. On the short table, besides the tall Watchers bed, laid a knife that was the exact size he needed; not too small, not too long and easily concealable. He decisively stole the knife and carefully exited the house.

From then on, Kai no longer ran from any beast he encountered, with the exception of massive beasts that were more than twice his size. He continued to perfect his Silent Steps and slayed the average sized beasts that dared to fight him. He successfully hid his knife and his fighting capabilities for a long period of time until one summer afternoon.

In the midst of his training, he coincidentally witnessed Jennifer saving an injured red bird while the predator, another boar, was looking away. Her ability in stealth was painfully poor so when she ran, the boar immediately turned and chased her. Mark, who was waiting for her, was caught in the chase the moment he saw Jennifer with the bird.

The boar caught up with ease but before it could cause any harm, Kai swooped down and ended its life. Jennifer and Mark were stunned with their mouths wide open. Wanting to continue his secrecy for the time being, he asked them to keep it to themselves. They eagerly agreed with their childish innocence and from then on they viewed Kai like their unspoken older brother.

Time went by and no more incidents occurred until the present incident where Jennifer saved the white fox.

Kai caught up with Jennifer and made his way out of the forest. Before they reached the exit, a boy came into view. He had similar general features as Kai except for his black hair was darker. The boy saw them as well and smiled.

“What took you guys so long?”, Mark inquired.