The forest race continued to heat up as the knight candidates faced off against each other in increasingly intense battles.
Dan and Rebecca in the forest
Dan grinned, staring at his hands crackling with lightning. "Wow, this is so cool. My 'Bang'… I wonder what else I can do with it!"
Rebecca crossed her arms, her tone serious. "Use it well. Remember, you're still a newbie and can be easily defeated by a strong and wise opponent."
Dan pouted. "Okay, okay… Oh, by the way, why did you decide to help me?"
Rebecca paused, a flash of memory crossing her mind—the moment Dan had saved her from falling earlier. She gave a small smile. "Because I can't let the Lightning Nation be disgraced. We all have to finish this race."
Dan's face lit up. "Oh yeah."
Rebecca turned to leave. "I'll be going now. Good luck, Dan." She gave him a warm smile before disappearing into the forest.
Dan watched her go, then sighed. "Well, I'm all alone again. Hmm… what to do, what to do?" He paused, smirking. "I could just run and avoid fights… or I could find strong opponents and gain more experience." His grin widened. "Time to find some tough ones."
He jumped from tree to tree, scanning the forest for challengers. It wasn't long before he encountered a few opponents and defeated them with ease, each victory fueling his confidence.
"Wow, using this new move is so cool," Dan said to himself, a satisfied grin spreading across his face.
As he moved deeper into the forest, he suddenly sensed an attack from behind and leapt out of the way. A sharp wooden spear sliced through the air, grazing his arm and drawing blood.
"Shit," Dan muttered, clutching his arm.
Two boys emerged from the shadows, their sharp teeth glinting in the dim light as they lunged at him, both having the same chi abilities. Dan reacted quickly, knocking them down with a swift strike.
"What the hell? So, you guys are ganging up on me now?" Dan asked, narrowing his eyes.
One of the boys,scruffy- a teen with wild dog-like teeth chi, sneered at him. "It's not just the two of us."
The other, nearly identical to the first, added, "There's one more with us."
Dan raised an eyebrow. "Let me guess: you three are working together to finish this race?"
Scruffy shook his head. "Nope. My twin brother and I always work together. The other guy just formed an alliance with us so we can get out of this hellish forest alive."
"Ah, I see," Dan said, cracking his knuckles. "Well, you two can come at me. Let's see what you've got."
The brothers growled in unison. "If you say so."
They charged at Dan, their sharp teeth aimed for his throat. Dan dodged their attacks with ease, landing a powerful kick on Sud, one of the twins, and sending him flying into a tree. As Dan prepared to deliver a lightning-infused strike to Scruffy, the wood attack appeared again, striking Dan hard and slamming him into the ground.
"Serves you right," Scruffy growled, rushing to his brother's side. "Sud, are you okay?"
Sud lay unconscious, unable to respond.
Scruffy's eyes glowed with rage. "You're going to regret hurting my brother, lightning boy. I'll tear you limb from limb!"
Dan, still on the ground, raised his hand and gave him a rude gesture.
Furious, Scruffy charged at Dan, his teeth bared. Dan prepared to counter, but the wood attack came at him once again. This time, Dan reacted quickly, destroying the wooden tendrils with a lightning-charged punch. As Scruffy lunged at him, Dan jumped high into the air and came crashing down with a devastating lightning stomp, knocking Scruffy out cold.
Dan stood over his defeated opponents, catching his breath. "What a fight… Now, wherever you are, wood guy, come out. I've already destroyed your dumb alliance."
A man named Cleve stepped out from behind a tree, his body surrounded by wood chi.
"Well," the man said, smirking, "you're a tough one to beat. Looks like I'll have to finish this alone."
Dan grinned. "Bring it on."
Elsewhere in the forest
Ash walked calmly through the dense forest, freezing anyone who crossed his path with ease.
"Ugh, this is so boring," Ash muttered, running a hand through his hair. "I wish I could fight someone tough. Hopefully, the others are safe."
Suddenly, a man covered in shimmering prism stones leapt out from the trees, firing shards of stone at Ash. Some of the shards cut his arm, while others were blocked by his ice shield.
Ash grinned, blood dripping from his arm. "Finally, a tough guy. I like it."
The man glared at him. "My name is Buston, and I will defeat you."
"Alright," Ash said, his grin widening. "Bring it on. Show me everything you've got."
Buston launched a flurry of prism stones at Ash, who easily blocked them with waves of ice. In retaliation, Ash unleashed his "Rose Spears" attack from his fingers, piercing Buston's body with several icy spears. Blood dripped from Buston's wounds, but he remained standing.
"Wow, you're really tough," Ash said, impressed.
"Thank you for the compliment," Buston replied, charging at Ash. His body, now covered in prism stones, shattered Ash's ice shield with ease.
Ash's eyes widened in surprise. "What the—"
"Game over," Buston said, smiling as he pummeled Ash with a series of blows.
As Buston prepared to deliver the final punch, Ash countered with his "Blizzard Scratch" attack, breaking the prism stones and leaving multiple cuts across Buston's body.
Ash smiled, his breath heavy. "Looks like we're even now."
Buston chuckled weakly. "Not quite."
Ash looked down and realized his legs were trapped in prism stones.
"Time for my final attack," Buston declared, leaping into the air and charging a massive prism stone attack.
Just before Buston could unleash his attack, a boy appeared behind him, striking him with a clean blow to the back. Buston fell to the ground, defeated.
Ash blinked in surprise. "Wow, thanks for saving me—"
The boy glared at him, cutting him off. "Shut up, Ash. Why did you let him do all that to you?"
Ash chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Okay, okay, you got me. I was bored, that's all. I just wanted to see how far he could go. It was… interesting, you know?"
Josh, a knight exam candidate from the 1st branch of the Spear Nation, glared at Ash with disapproval. "You were already going to defeat him before I intervened. You had three chances to finish the fight, but you stopped every time. I couldn't bear to watch your stupidity, so I ended it fast."
Ash grinned cheekily. "Hehe. Alright, you win this one." He casually broke out of the prism stones trapping his legs with ease, as if they had been no challenge at all. "Anyway, why are you here? Are you looking for your brother?"
Josh shook his head. "No. I'm looking for Alexis."
Ash's grin grew wider. "Why? Want to challenge him again?"
Josh's fists clenched as he spoke. "Yes. I want to prove to him that even without having two—"
"Just give it up," Ash interrupted, his tone suddenly serious. "I've seen Alexis fight. Years ago, I could beat him with ease, but now? If we fought today, I don't even know who would come out on top." He paused, his gaze steady. "You can't beat him. He's just far out of your reach."
Josh gritted his teeth, frustration evident on his face.
Ash sighed, his tone softening. "Just go finish the race and avoid disappointing yourself, Josh."
Without waiting for a response, Ash turned and walked away, leaving Josh standing there in silence.
Josh's frustration boiled over as he screamed into the forest. "FUCKKKKKKKKK!"
Dan vs. Cleve
Dan leapt from tree to tree, dodging Cleve's long-range wood attacks.
"Why are you running?" Cleve taunted. "Weren't you confident you'd beat me?"
Dan scowled, thinking to himself. This bastard... Every time I try to get close, he blocks me with his wood attacks. I need to move faster.
Cleve struck Dan with a series of wooden tendrils, pinning him to the ground. "Heh, I've got you now," Cleve said, laughing.
Dan gritted his teeth and forced himself to stand. He charged at Cleve, delivering a powerful punch, but Cleve blocked it with a wood shield. The shield shattered under the force of Dan's strike, forcing Cleve to retreat.
"What the hell?" Cleve muttered. "That was fast."
Dan grinned through his exhaustion. "I'm not going down that easily."
Cleve formed two massive wooden hands, using them to smack Dan around the battlefield.
"You're tough," Cleve said, smirking. "But this ends here."
Dan clenched his fists, lightning surging through his body. I can't lose… not to someone like him.
As the wooden hands came crashing down, Dan destroyed them with a lightning-infused punch.
Cleve staggered back in shock. "You should be down by now!"
"Like hell I will," Dan said, determination burning in his eyes.
With lightning crackling around his legs, Dan charged at Cleve, dodging a barrage of wood blasts. He delivered a flurry of punches to Cleve's ribs and chest before finishing with his signature move, the "Lightning Karate Chop."
Cleve collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
Dan staggered, catching his breath. "Finally… Let me rest for a bit."