NOVEL WEB Chapter 28: Chapter 28
I looked at the two men before me. One was a short, old, gray-haired man who seemed to be the warden, given his luxurious and unique black armor. The other was a tall, young man with black hair, dressed in black silk adorned with the pattern of a golden dragon.
'I feel that this one is stronger than the captain I killed in the south,' I thought. 'He should be worth a considerable amount of experience points. At any rate, I shouldn't let my guard down. I'll test the waters first.'
"So, which one of you wants to become my hostage? Don't try to resist," I said. But inwardly, I hoped they would resist. I needed a good excuse to earn experience points. Although this was real life, the only difference between it and a game was that a game had an experience bar. Other than that, they were quite similar. When you disconnect from life, the world no longer exists to you. The same applies to games.
Though, in games, you wouldn't get emotionally attached.
'They consider our lives a game to boost their ego. Why shouldn't we treat them the same?' I walked confidently. The warden had a scarred, defensive body language. As for the young man, he exuded a confident aura.
He stood up. Instantly, the chair he had been sitting on flew toward me. Infusing my Chi into my foot, I kicked the chair, shattering it into pieces.
It was a good time to bend the ice water cube I had placed by the door.
But the young man appeared in front of me instantly, launching a kick toward my face. I tilted backward, my eyes widening slightly as I saw a stream of fire flying alongside his heel.
Using my footwork, I jumped back, narrowly dodging the fire that almost burned my face.
But it wasn't over. The enemy spun with the kick, creating a circle of fire that distracted me from an inside kick that struck my stomach. Reacting quickly, I used Chi bending to boost my strength. But even that couldn't fully nullify the momentum.
'Since when do soldiers know taekwondo?' I thought to myself, glaring at him.
"I'm not like the rest of the soldiers you know," he declared. "I'm Commander Shaw, a master firebender. You'll remember my name as the great red line you've crossed in your life."
"You're very humble, Master Shaw," I smirked, brushing the dust off my shirt. This was the strongest firebender I'd fought so far. It meant I needed to keep my guard up around others like Iroh and Azula—and especially the Fire Lord.
"Since you're a martial artist and firebender, what do you think is most important—" I began, two water tentacles forming around my shoulders.
Shaw didn't let me finish. He jumped at me, delivering a side kick with fire trailing behind, forcing me to dodge.
"Not even letting me finish my line," I scoffed.
'Seems I'm not the main character. It's better if I avoid death flags.'
One of the water tentacles separated and spread across the floor.
"You idiot. This is the best bending move you can do?" the warden, who had been watching from the sidelines, mocked. "You're so pathetic."
"I was going to say footwork is the most important," I said.
Shaw had already taken his stance, forming a fist and stepping forward to strike.
But then, he slipped and shot a fire blast toward the ceiling.
"Without footwork, you can't fight," I said, walking calmly on the ice. More water tentacles appeared on my back, thanks to the ice cube by the door.
I clapped my hands and smiled at Master Shaw.
"What? Never trained martial arts on frozen ground?" I smirked. "Looks like your training is lacking."
Shaw tried to stand and slowly regain his balance on the icy surface.
But before he could steady himself, the tentacles on my back attacked him, their ends turning into ice blades. I waved them left and right. Their sheer number made them hard to predict and even harder to dodge.
Multiple cuts appeared on Master Shaw's body, and I forced him to his knees.
"Shit," he cursed. I made the tentacles wrap around his limbs and lift him off the ground. I turned to the warden and said, "Your turn is next. I just need the notification."
I was about to deliver the finishing blow.
But Shaw surprised me. He opened his mouth wide and shot a massive stream of fire at me.
Caught off guard, I surrounded him with water and froze him on the spot. Meanwhile, I crossed my arms, taking the fire head-on. The flames dissipated, leaving me with burning wounds.
"Tsk. It's so painful," I grumbled, looking at my hands. "Nothing a little waterbending can't fix," I muttered to myself. Since most of the human body is made of water, it made sense that channeling Chi through it could heal injuries.
But first, I needed to focus on more pressing matters.
I looked at the commander, trapped inside the icy water.
"Frostbite or death. Choose," I said. "But since you don't submit easily, I'll choose for you."
His eyes darted left and right within the ice.
The firebender seemed to be able to control his own body heat.
I had to admit, he was talented.
But too bad for him.
I didn't need a hostage.
I pointed my hand at him. The ice around his head melted, and the water slipped into his nose, killing him from within.
[Ding. Defeating a semi-master firebender and an intermediate martial artist]
[+10,000 experience points]
[Freezing +++]
[Waterbending +2000 exp]
[Ding. A skill has dropped]
[Do you wish to learn the skill tree: Martial Arts?]
[New Skill has been acquired.]
He was worth so much experience that it wasn't a waste to kill him.
The warden, who had been watching, tried to run. But since the ground was covered in ice, he slipped and fell on his face.
I ignored him and melted the ice around the commander's body, then bent the water to form a healing layer around me.
A faint light glowed within the water, and my burns began to heal rapidly. It didn't take long for me to recover completely. The sooner they healed, the better. Besides, I didn't want to end up with scars and look like Prince Zuko. Poor Zuko.
There was a technique I wanted to develop, but I had postponed it because the circumstances weren't suitable, and it wasn't something to learn on the battlefield.
The idea was to use my own body's water to heal instead of relying on external sources. Since a high percentage of the human body is made of water, channeling my Chi through it—or through my blood—should allow me to self-heal while standing.
Still, it wasn't something to attempt with enemies around. Not in the forest, and certainly not here.
The warden, who had been trying and failing miserably to escape, fell to the ground again and looked at me with fear.
Shaw lay there, frozen like a statue.
It seemed not everyone was like Aang, able to survive being frozen.
Anyway, the ice on the ground turned into water, which surrounded the warden's feet and froze. I approached him.
Holding my chin, I mused, "Would killing you be worth it?"
The wrinkles on the warden's forehead twitched.
"Please, sir," he stammered in fear.
"A week ago, a firebender who had gone to the South Pole arrived here. Where is he, and how much do you know?" I asked.
"He's a survivor… We suspected that his unit was annihilated by a waterbender whom we believed to be the Avatar," he stuttered. "As for the man in question, he's been sent to the Fire Nation to retire. He lost both of his legs, so he can't participate in battle anymore. Wait… Is that you?"
'Seriously. That motherfucker,' I sighed. 'I give up. I won't kill him.'
"Well, it seems I'm that waterbender," I said, looking at the warden. "Not the Avatar, though." I thought of a way to use him.