We went outside and met up with everyone else. I knew Khun was good at ordering people around — and he was certainly good at getting results by using others. Now, I guess he does trust me to some extent, but that doesn't mean he'd go easy on me. These realities kinda made me nervous. Even if he's an ally, he's still unpredictable.
"Okay, let's begin. The Workshop is not that far away, so make sure to do your best," Khun announced when we were all gathered at the meadow.
"Man, he's talking as if he's not even a part of this team," Prince complained.
Khun ignored his comment despite having heard it very well and continued, "For starters, [Y/N] will fight Ehwa, Dann and Miseng. One against three."
W H A T.
Over the years I've learned not to complain so I didn't say anything although I kept screaming inside.
Meanwhile all eyes were on me, waiting for my reaction. I shrugged.
"Is... Is [Y/N] so strong that she can beat three of us in one go?"
"Viole, Khun, [Y/N]... They're probably just a whole another league..."
"The hell."
I didn't pay much attention to these remarks and concentrated on the task at hand. If Khun wanted to test my strength then there's no way this was going to be easy. Though he did mention he joined this team just a few days ago, I doubt he knows a lot about their actual power. Moreover, if those people were actual teammates of Viole, then there's no way they're normal people.
I should just do the best I can in this situation. At the point I could create up to four bangs at once. That means I have one bang per person and one spare. Plus I have no knowledge of their power. And I have to keep a track of my scars. It will be a mess if Khun finds out.
I looked at the trio. They seemed rather unsure about the idea. The others retracted away to watch.
"Come at me whenever you're ready," I nodded at them. I didn't plan on saying anything else until the fight would be over as it would disrupt my tranquil concentration.
The three exchanged doubtful looks yet again, then nodded and the next thing I knew, Miseng charged at me head on.
Logically, she has to be an initiator. Probably she will try to restrict my movement so the other two could strike.
I didn't waste my precious time and created one bang that I sent flying against her. As predicted, the girl tried swinging her needle to reflect the attack, but little did she know that I still had control of it, so I dissipated it before it made contact with her weapon. She found herself in the middle of cloud of scattered energy, but was able to dash back out before I managed to blow it up.
The cracking sound filled the air for a couple of moments. It would've been a perfect moment for a counterattack, but I didn't want to risk anything before knowing their abilities, so I waited, keeping all three of them in my field of view.
Or so I thought. I suddenly realized I saw only two — Miseng and Ehwa. But Dann—
My gut feeling made me dash to the left and use the momentum to turn around. It was just in time to block Dann's kick.
His strong point is movement. He's either insanely fast or he's able to teleport. Otherwise I would have noticed him. But it was smart of him to use my attack to advance.
I let his kick throw me away, but it wasn't that strong because I dashed away earlier. I just wanted to create some distance between us.
Landing delicately after a backflip I judged the situation. This time Dann was coming at me from the left, Miseng from the right. Ehwa was far away, which was suspicious, but I didn't have the time to devote myself to that.
I materialized all four bangs and winced at the scars' continually increasing amount of pain. I felt them start bleeding, but I couldn't afford the luxury of holding back. Seeing both of the attackers mildly startled by the amount of bangs I gained some hope on victory.
Both of them tensed up and prepared to counter, which visibly slowed them down. Exactly what I needed. They must have had met a powerful wave-controller in the past if they take me so cautiously.
Using the jiff I injected the four bangs to my palms and feet and thrust towards Dann, who was at this moment more dangerous because of his speed. He needed to be taken out first.
Dann absolutely didn't expect such a turn of events and wasn't able to defend from my enhanced punch in time. As consequence, he stumbled back only to get hit by a roundhouse kick to his chest.
As humiliating as it is for me, I aimed for his head but he's just simply too tall. Or I am too small. Whatever.
Most importantly, he won't be getting up in the next few moments at the very least.
With the help of the sharp pulsating pain in my arms the scars have reminded me of their existence. The ache and blood loss were making me dizzy, which honestly sucked.
I was forced to dissolve the bangs before I'd lose control of them inside my body. That would've been painful as hell. How do I know? Experience, duh.
Turing my attention to Miseng who was about to swing at me, I saw she was going for my legs. Naturally I used shinsu to enhance them and jumped up, only to feel something pierce my left thigh.
I held back the screams that were making their way up my throat. I took a look at my new wound — it has been a shinsu projectile, which left me kind of relieved, because they're not that difficult to heal.
Miseng managed to create a huge distance between us in the meanwhile, so going after her wasn't an option at the moment. I couldn't see Ehwa anywhere, figuring she'd be behind me. That's why I infused my body with shinsu yet again to shield myself from an expected attack.
Just in time, because before I could even touch the ground after jumping up from Miseng earlier, I was tackled to down from behind.
Hitting the grass with clumsiness but little damage, I was able to flip around and land a blow on my opponent, who indeed was Ehwa.
My peripheral vision started getting blurry, which indicated I was nearly at my limit. Damned scars. Why do they have to bleed so much..?!
I realized I couldn't use my shinsu anymore if I wanted to stay awake. Losing my consciousness now would be troublesome.
Using the momentum of having Ehwa recovering from the hit, I pulled out a pair of daggers out of my pocket and dashed away from her, panting heavily.
What I failed to notice was how I was left alone with Ehwa, while Miseng successfully helped Dann get away from us. That mistake led me to blindly swing at her, but she didn't waver to let me slice her arm that she put up for defense.
I was definitely startled by her actions, wondering what the hell she was up to. She followed by grabbing my neck with her healthy arm, and then looked me dead in the eyes.
In the moment it felt as if the time had stopped. Even the scars let me forget about them for that split of a second. Ehwa's eyes were filled with determination, and I could swear I could see blaze in them...
The next thing I knew, there was only the two of us, and we were surrounded by fire that seemed to be endless.
Aha. So this is her power. It seems she isn't confident with controlling it, and that's why she used it only when Miseng and Dann were out of range.
It burned. Unlike Ehwa, I did not have resistance to fire and could only protect myself by enveloping my body in shinsu.
I had to decide fast — is it better to get nasty burns or lose consciousness?
I went with the first one. My secret is top priority. I can't let these people be weighed down by it.
At the same time, I couldn't afford to lose. I am not that weak...!
Which is why I decided to step up my game. Feeling my limit nearing, I transfered a little shinsu to my daggers and swung them, not going for Ehwa, but releasing a shockwave instead.
I caught a glimpse of fear in her eyes and she dashed away, letting the fire dissipate. She looked at me in bewilderment, although I didn't know why — was I the first person to survive her rampage?
But I didn't waste more time and, while she was startled, I pounced forward and landing a quick punch on her stomach. With that, I knocked out her breath and she fell onto her knees, gasping for air.
Looking around, nobody was coming at me anymore. I breathed in and closed my eyes. After what seemed like another eternity to me, I found myself on the ever so peaceful meadow, as if nobody has ever fought here. Lost in thoughts I admired the scenery, the wind, the smell. It was tranquil. Beautiful.
A hand that was stretched out to me has brought me back to reality and the loathsome pain I've still tried my best to ignore.
I looked up and saw Ehwa standing in front of me with a worried expression. I took her hand to show goodwill even though it hurt me to as much as contract a muscle on my arms.
She shook my hand and I couldn't help but jolt. The ache was a bit too much this time.
"Uhm... [Y/N], I'm sorry!" Ehwa piped up. "Does it hurt a lot? I apologize I can't control my powers very well! I didn't want to—"
We began walking back to the rest of the team.
"It's fine," I reassured her. Although I was sure I didn't sound too calming, so I decided to switch the topic, "You were amazing back there. I honestly didn't know what to await from you, it totally caught me off guard when you didn't evade my blades. I hope I didn't hurt you much too."
She didn't seem encouraged by my words though. Instead, her head sunk. "You know," she started, "even though we just met, I kind of envy you. You're so strong and brave. You didn't complain fighting all of us at once although you didn't even know our powers. And I... All I can do is burn my own friends..."
Uh... That's awkward. What do I say to that?
As we were approaching the others, I slightly patted her back and said, "Cheer up, Ehwa. Everyone has their barriers they must overcome. Just don't give up and try more. Eventually you'll get better."
She looked up at me and I flashed her a smile.
"Yeah..." I heard her whisper.
'Just don't give up and try more'? I couldn't have said anything more lame. What the hell, [Y/N]...
When we arrived I saw that neither Dann nor Miseng were seriously injured. That was a relief.
Wangnan was the first one to greet us. "Wow..! That was spectacular!" He came up to me, took my hand and started shaking it furiously. "[Y/N], are you single, by the way?"
"Wangnan, is that all you care for?!" Goseng pointed out.
"Chill, I'm only asking."
"Okay, time for evaluations!" That was Khun.
Everyone went silent. I wonder how does that man have such presence, even though nobody here has any real reason to listen to him. And yet they do.
"Miseng and Ehwa — you guys... I have no words. Frankly, at this point you're useless. The three of you can't take down one person without suffering major injuries. It is going to be a rough time for you lot if we want to take the first place at the Workshop."
I looked at the two girls. They both seemed struck by it. They still don't know Khun. He says harsh things but he means well. I hope they won't take it wrong.
"Dann—"
"Yeah, yeah, I know. I gotta train more. My legs got pretty screwed over," Dann scratched the back of his head.
Khun nodded. "Take your time. We will need your speed."
What happened to Dann? Rachel...?
"[Y/N]..." Khun turned to me, "I guess I'm going to come up with a tougher challenge for you next time so I can evaluate your strength."
Please don't.
When I didn't say anything back, he came up closer to me and looked me dead in the eyes.
I raised an eyebrow.
He then smiled. He looked sweet and innocent, but I was honestly shook.
Subconsciously, I took a step back and stumbled on god knows what. Before I could fall back, Khun was quick to react and catch my arm, then pull me to him.
It all happened so quickly and the only thing I could concentrate on was his thumb practically digging into my open scar through my sleeve.
My peripheral vision faded — all I could see was a narrow spot of light in front of me. I felt someone embrace me, but I couldn't struggle even if I wanted to.
I know Khun didn't mean to hurt me. He didn't know. But heck, I need to do something about this.
Despite seeing basically nothing at all, I lifted my head towards where I assumed his face was and smiled.
"Thanks, haha."
"You... should probably be careful," I heard him whisper right next to me. Then I felt him let go of me.
Facing down, I slowly regained my senses. Nobody seemed to be concerned about this little happening. And I looked up at him again. He was further away now, swiping on his tablet.
A few more seconds later he spoke up again, to everyone, "Okay then. Goseng, Prince, Wangnan and Arkraptor — it's your turn now. You lot —" he glanced at me, "— go treat your wounds and come back."
I nodded and headed back to the mansion.