Martial Arts Worlds

In the VIP room of the stadium, Azer watched as a single student dominated the fight.

"Hah…" Azer shook his head.

"Where the hell did this brat come from now? He is living with Kiernan, and according to Karma, they befriended overseas.

"He sure is strong, but since he isn't native to New Rakuya, he cannot compete in the Junior Martial Arts Championship as our representative. Well, I still don't believe he can beat our Kiernan.

"Fortunately, he can still participate with Karuza High in the nationals. I sure owe a lot to Kiernan, huh? I can almost taste the championship trophy now."

He took a deep breath, then, with a smile, phoned a person who was taking care of the rankings of the students.

The call connected quickly.

"Yes, sir?" The voice said.

"You've seen enough fights, haven't you? You can publish the rankings already."

"Are you sure? The ranked matches should've happened for a week."

"We already know who will be part of our team. The rest can challenge each other into ranked matches if they think they deserve a higher rank."

"Alright, right away, sir!"

…

Ding! Ding!

In the gymnasium, Coach Jin's eyebrow rose as he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He took it out and saw something shocking.

"The rankings have already been posted!" He exclaimed. "That's quick. I guess they're already certain who will be part of our team!"

Kiernan and Julian walked over to him and checked the rankings through his phone.

***

[STUDENT POWER RANKINGS]

[1. Kiernan Hunter]

[2. Julian Noah]

[3. Jonathan Ackers]

[4. Dominic Raze]

[5. Julia Karuza]

***

"Oh?" Kiernan turned to the black-haired girl. "You're fifth, but you didn't participate in the ranked matches?"

"During the holiday, I participated in a few tournaments." Julia said with a smile. "I won a few, so I guess they believe I belong as fifth. If anybody wants to challenge me for that spot, I am more than happy to accept!"

"A team full of second-years." Coach Jin chuckled. "How interesting. As I expected, Julian is second. I'd like to see you two brawl in a ranked match."

'I don't know how our fight would go, but I must get stronger.'

Kiernan thought to himself as he clenched his fists.

"I'll be heading home. Will we start training tomorrow?"

"That's the plan." Coach Jin said with a nod. "We have a lot of work to do."

Kiernan nodded, then picked up his backpack and headed out the door.

With the wind accompanying him, he left the school's yard and saw that his father's car was already gone.

He spent too long talking with Coach Jin and Julia.

'I guess I'll walk home.'

Kiernan thought, and as he strode down the sidewalk, he curiously brought out his system interface and opened his shop.

***

[SHOP]

[Random Stat Pill - 2,500 Gold Coins - One-time purchase]

[Hourglass of Focus - 5,000 Gold Coins - One-time purchase]

[Sword of Maraketh - 10,000 Gold Coins - One-time purchase]

***

'After I purchased the treasure map, it was replaced by Hourglass of Focus. I know that item will help me focus more than normally as long as it is still dripping sand.

'It is for one-time use, but it can be useful for when I am trying to do my push to Middle Stage Martial Champion.

'I now have enough money to purchase Random Stat Pill. I hope whatever item replaces it will also be useful.'

Without much of a second thought, he purchased Random Stat Pill and Hourglass of Focus.

They appeared in his inventory.

[Gold: 26,932]

'It hurts to see my wealth go down by so much. However, I am not sure if the lottery is worth it, as I might spend 50,000 gold for some shitty item.

'However, it can also be something incredibly valuable. I want to focus on becoming Middle Stage, though, so I needed these two items.'

He opened his inventory, took out the Random Stat Pill, and tossed it into his mouth.

A strange flavor attacked his taste buds, and his stomach started churning violently.

[Random Stat Pill Used!]

[+10 Vitality]

[Vitality: 50 → 60]

'Oh, could be worse.' Kiernan thought. 'My body is slightly tougher now. I guess that opens up a few new options within my Iron Style I could use.'

'What are the new shop items…'

Out of curiosity, he opened his shop once more.

***

[SHOP]

[Ginseng Root Fragment - 2,500 Gold Coins - One-time purchase]

[Tattered Scroll of Wisdom - 5,000 Gold Coins - One-time purchase]

[Sword of Maraketh - 10,000 Gold Coins - One-time purchase]

***

'The hell?' Kiernan's eyebrow twitched. 'Let me check their description.'

[Ginseng Root Fragment: When chewed, it will give the user +1 Stamina, but it will be very bitter. It can also be used in potion making!]

'Eh, useless.' Kiernan frowned. 'Random Stat Pill at least gave ten stat points, but this one only gives one. I guess it has more uses in potion making, but I don't know how to concoct potions!'

He then checked the second item.

[Tattered Scroll of Wisdom: Contains vague advice. It looks ancient, but was probably printed last week. Purchase at your own discretion!]

'Worthless!'

Kiernan felt like crying.

He closed the shop and the system interface. It was a pretty disappointing pair of items.

'With ten stat points on Vitality, I can tell that Middle Stage is not impossibly difficult. However, I think I need to level up once more, and then with the Hourglass of Focus, I can try to cross the boundary between Low, and Middle Stage.'

…

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The ground shook as a person walked down a narrow road, split between two dark forests. The footsteps echoed loudly, causing the trees to sway and birds to take flight from their perches.

"Huff! Huff! Huff!"

The man panted heavily, as if it was really hard for him to walk.

It was because he was carrying a heavy, wide-looking pillar that was three times as big as himself. It was chained against his body so it wouldn't fall off.

"Huff!"

At that moment, he came across the city's sign.

[Welcome to Irio!]

"Irio?" The man spoke roughly and then laughed. "Shall this place be it? Will I finally find a student?"

He rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a notepad. It had thousands of cities and towns crossed out.

He then wrote "Irio" under many of those crossed-out cities.

"1876th time's the charm!"