The Sevpons

The next day, Tony eagerly headed to the cave to practice with his Chained Blade. As he swung it with precision, something unexpected happened—the chain grew longer, almost as if it had a mind of its own.

"How did the chain get bigger?" Tony wondered aloud, eyes wide with curiosity.

He adjusted his grip on the chain, and to his amazement, it grew even longer. It felt almost as though the weapon was responding to his thoughts.

"That's incredible! Can I make it smaller too?" he asked himself, his voice filled with excitement.

With a focused thought, Tony tightened his grip again, this time imagining the chain shrinking. Slowly but surely, the chain began to retract, shrinking down to its original size.

"This is amazing!" Tony grinned, thrilled by the new abilities he was discovering with his weapon. "I can control the length of the chain... I need to see what else I can do."

He spent the next few hours experimenting with the chain, adjusting its length, testing its flexibility, and performing a variety of moves. Every time he thought of something new, the blade responded. It felt as though the weapon was alive, in tune with his every movement.

After pushing himself to his limits, Tony finally decided to head back to his room for some rest. As he walked in, Ryu, who was sitting on his bed, looked up at him.

"So, how was your training?" Ryu asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It was amazing!" Tony replied, still buzzing with excitement. "I discovered some new moves with my Chained Blade, and it has some crazy abilities."

"You know about the announcement for the basic training certificate after the fourth month?" Ryu asked.

"Yeah," Tony said. "I heard about it."

"How? You were sleeping when they made the announcement," Ryu said, giving him a teasing look.

"I just heard you mention it," Tony said with a smirk.

"Okay, get ready for today's class," Ryu said, shaking his head but smiling.

After class, Jin went to the cave to practice with his Knife. As he was concentrating on his moves, something odd happened—the Knife began to glow, and suddenly, fire shot out from the blade.

"Whoa! The Knife is producing fire!" Jin exclaimed, startled but intrigued. He concentrated harder, and the flame grew, the gem on the hilt of the Knife shimmering brightly. "This is incredible. I didn't even think this was possible."

As he continued practicing, Jin started to notice something else. Every time he focused on the flame, more fire shot out from the blade. The gem was glowing brighter, its color shifting from a soft red to a deep orange.

"Can I change the color?" Jin wondered, his mind racing with possibilities. He focused on the gem, trying to change its hue. After several attempts, the gem turned blue.

"Well, this is new," Jin muttered. "I didn't think I could do that. Let's see what else this Knife can do."

He focused on the blade, and a strange sensation filled his body, like a wave of water flowing through him. Testing his theory, he tried to summon water, and to his surprise, the Knife released a powerful stream of water, shooting from the blade.

"Okay, now we're talking," Jin grinned. "Fire, water, and possibly more abilities. This is going to be fun."

But after several attempts, he couldn't get the Knife to change the color of its gem beyond red and blue. The Knife's abilities seemed to have limits, but Jin wasn't about to give up. He continued his training, experimenting with fire, water, and even trying to manipulate the gem's color, but the results remained the same. Eventually, he took a break and headed for lunch.

"So, how was your training?" Wei asked as Jin sat down.

"Well, mine was the best," Tony said proudly, clearly still riding the high from his own discoveries.

"I had a better experience than in my room," Jin said with a grin, though he kept his newfound abilities to himself.

"My turn to practice now," Kai said, getting up from the table.

"Then it's mine," Ryu said, heading toward the cave.

After lunch, Kai went to the cave to practice with his newly acquired weapons. He spent some time focusing on his technique, trying to figure out the best way to wield his weapon, the Katana. As he finished, Ryu entered the cave for his turn.

Ryu took out his Nunchaku and began swinging it, his focus absolute. But as he swung it toward the ground, something unexpected happened—ice crystals began to form where the Nunchaku landed.

"What just happened?" Ryu wondered, eyes widening in surprise.

He quickly picked up his Nunchaku again, swung it in the air, and this time focused on the ice. The Nunchaku responded, releasing more ice crystals that hit the ground with a sharp crack. Ryu marveled at the way the ice formed instantly, almost as if it was obeying his command.

"Wow, this is... incredible," he murmured to himself. "Can I make more ice? Or control it?"

He practiced with the Nunchaku for a while, focusing on creating more ice crystals and even using the Nunchaku to freeze the air around him. He realized that the ice couldn't be melted—it was somehow frozen at a temperature far below normal freezing levels. "This is insane," Ryu said under his breath. "But I have to make sure Wei doesn't find out."

Ryu, realizing the implications of what he had just discovered, quickly began eating the ice. "I better finish it before Wei finds out. He's too sharp for me to hide this from him."

After finishing the last of the ice, he quickly returned to his room to rest, hoping the strange abilities of his weapon wouldn't be discovered just yet.

The next day, Kai went to check on Ryu. "Hey, Ryu, how's everything going?" Kai asked, leaning against the doorframe.

"Wanna ask something?" Ryu asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Can I see the Nunchaku I gave you?" Kai asked, his voice casual.

Ryu gave a mock frown, his eyes widening dramatically. "Do you want it back? Are you trying to hurt my feelings?" he said, putting on an overly dramatic face.

"No, no, no! Keep it! I don't want it back!" Kai said, laughing. "It's yours."

Ryu grinned. "Okay, bye." He pretended to wipe away a fake tear as Kai left.

Next, Kai went to Jin's room. "Hey, Jin, can I see your Knife?" he asked.

Jin handed it over immediately. "Sure, take it. But never give me anything again!" he said, dramatically sighing as he handed the weapon over.

Kai chuckled but quickly waved off Jin's antics. "Don't worry, I don't want it."

That evening, after dinner, the group went to relax. Tony leaned back and looked at his friends. "Let them go," he said with a smile. "We can just play tag."

Ryu stood up suddenly. "I think I forgot something in my room," he said, quickly leaving the room.

Wei, sensing something was up, stood as well. "I'm going to the library now," he said, heading out the door.

"I'm going back to my room too," Jin said, following them out.

"Perfect, now we can have some fun," Tony said with a mischievous grin.

Ryu went straight to the cave to practice. About five minutes later, Jin appeared, seemingly out of nowhere.

"What are you doing here?" Ryu asked, surprised.

"What are you doing here?" Jin shot back.

"I'm practicing for the test this month," Ryu explained, as he set his Nunchaku down and prepared to swing.

"It's still two weeks away, but I'm here for the same reason," Jin said with a grin.

"Let's practice together," Ryu suggested, and they both began to train side by side.

Suddenly, an eerie, unnatural sound filled the cave, making the hairs on the back of their necks stand up.

"What's that noise?" Jin asked, his voice filled with concern.

"I don't know," Ryu replied, uneasily glancing around.

Then, without warning, a glowing portal opened in the cave. Strange, terrifying monsters began pouring out of the portal, attacking the two of them.

"Why are they attacking us?" Ryu asked, his voice shaky.

"I don't know!" Jin responded. "Did you steal anything from them?"

"Why would I steal from them?" Ryu snapped back. "Remember that time you stole all my chocolate and soaked my clothes?"

"Okay, enough with the past!" Jin shouted, swinging his Knife and using the fire to push back the monsters.

Ryu responded by swinging his Nunchaku, sending shards of ice flying toward the monsters. Together, they fought back, using their weapons' newfound abilities.

"Your Knife can throw fire?" Ryu said, dodging a monster's attack.

"And your Nunchaku can throw ice," Jin said with a grin, feeling the thrill of their teamwork.

But as the fight raged on, they both began to feel exhausted. Jin stumbled, falling to his knees.

"What's going on? Feeling tired already?" Ryu said, concerned.

"I just... I'm exhausted," Jin panted, still kneeling. "I think the weapons are draining us."

Just then, Wei appeared, holding his Chinese Fan. With a flick of his wrist, he sent the fan slicing through the air, cutting off the head of one of the monsters. The fan had a blade hidden within it.

"Did that fan have a blade?" Ryu asked, now feeling the effects of the battle.

"Yes," Wei replied calmly, "but you two need to leave the cave."

"What?" Jin and Ryu shouted in unison.

Wei waved his fan, creating a powerful gust of wind that sent both Ryu and Jin flying out of the cave. The wind blew so hard that it created a massive rock, blocking the entrance completely.

"No!" Jin shouted, groaning as he hit the ground, too exhausted to move.

The two of them lay there, breathing heavily, too tired to do much more than rest. Ten minutes later, they woke to find Kai and Tony beside them.

"Where's Wei?" Jin asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

"We don't know," Tony replied, looking confused.

"He's still inside the cave. He blocked the entrance, but there are still monsters in there. We need to go save him," Ryu said, his voice urgent.

The four of them stared at the rock that blocked the entrance.

"The rock's in the way," Tony said. "We need to break it."

"Our weapons should be able to help!" Jin said, suddenly coming to life. "We can use their abilities!"

Kai grinned. "Let me handle that," he said, creating a massive hammer and smashing it into the rock. The rock shattered with a deafening crack.

"Impressive," Tony said, his eyes wide with awe.

With the path now clear, they rushed into the cave. But as they entered, they found that both Wei and the monsters were gone.

"They must have been taken into the portal," Ryu said, his voice filled with concern.

"So, do we go into the portal to save him?" Jin asked, feeling both nervous and determined.

Without another word, the four of them charged toward the portal, determined to find Wei and stop the monsters.