Shielded by Seals [Chapter 35] (Patreon)

ToC: https://www.patreon.com/posts/132353583

The zero-legger children skipped down the villa stairs. Most of the kids had shining eyes, buoyed by daydreams of their ‘powerful futures’. When we stepped outside, I blinked; our small forms joined a growing throng of other children milling in the open area between the villas.

I looked at the older inner hands, envying their height. They spared a glance for the kids, but soon turned away. Yet I finally had a chance to see the whole cohort of the inner cloister. With about twenty kids a cohort, we weren’t many.

Yet also the traits emphasized by the Feng Family became clear.

Even just the age group above ours, that we entered by losing our Child Role designation, seemed completely transformed. They were not only enviably larger, but their bodies had the sleek lines of developing muscles. Both boys and girls had limbs crisscrossed with scars.

These prepubescent martial artists stamped out my last hope that I could grow peacefully. This was a fantasy world, I acknowledged with a glum look on my face. To survive, you fought.

“That guy’s scars are so cool,” Toby whispered.

As I rolled my eyes, Vernika leaned forward, her eyes just as bright as Toby’s. “Do you think they’ve killed monsters before?!”

“For sure,” Toby said, based on no justification whatsoever.

Vernika noticed my attention and glared at me, so I just looked away. I wasn’t in the mood for a childish confrontation.

After waiting for ten more minutes, I began to feel the first stirrings of impatience. All this time spent loitering around and looking at the thug-like preteens could have been spent training. But soon a group of eight individuals stalked up to the gathering. While the rest of us were in casual clothes, these individuals were bedecked in weapons and armor. They were probably just barely teenagers, but compared to my three-year-old self, they seemed quite large and imposing.

A grizzled man, who appeared to be the Prefect of the oldest three-leggers, nodded toward the approaching eight. “Today, we will witness the final portion of the two-legged bracket of the Inner Hand Cloister. For those of you who have not witnessed a tournament before… do not think you can rest on your laurels and just watch! You will have a vested interest in the outcome as well.”

While the Prefect spoke, my gaze went to the dangerous-looking individuals behind him. These were the closest of the inner hands to graduation, the three-leggers. With brains still developing and bodies polished for war. Because today’s tournament were an age bracket down from them, most affected disinterested expressions and released ominous auras filled with blood. Yet one man with bright orange hair-

-stared fixedly at one of the girls competing. The one wearing a mask.

“You will need to select a representative to support,” The Prefect continued. “We begin with a light jog the venue; use that period to decide on your selection. While your competitor is still in the tournament, you may sit and watch and partake of the snacks available at the competition grounds. But should your competitor lose…”

The grizzled man showed his yellowed teeth. “You will train until your eyes sweat and your skin bleeds.”

Around me, the kids suddenly perked up in confusion. They all looked at Prefect Nightflower, who leaned forward and spoke in a low voice. “If your competitor loses… you will run around the competition venue until the tournament finishes.”

The children’s faces went blank. Most of them didn’t spend their time grinding. Eventually, one chubby boy managed to speak up. “...we would run for the whole time?”

Prefect Nightshade’s expression cooled. “You will, if you wish to remain a part of the Great Fang Family’s Inner Hand Cloister. How many days of peace and leisure has the Fang Family given you? And you cannot even manage to run for a single afternoon?”

Everything is a setup for manipulation, I sighed to myself. Since the Fang Family cannot force certain actions due to the protections of the Child Role… they can only use the time in another way. Earning goodwill, trading favors.

“Besides,” Nightflower continued, providing a much-needed bit of hope after her earlier gloom. “With eight competitors, there will only be three rounds of matches. And in order to avoid running altogether, you only need to select one of the two finalists. It is up to your investigative skills to determine which are the most powerful.”

With these reassurances, life crept back into the faces of the children. Their eyes flicked to the approaching eight. Toby was no exception. He crossed his arms and squinted. “Who do you think we should pick?”

My tongue poked out between my teeth as I squinted toward the group. Just barely, I could feel Mana after Child grew to Proficient IV. The ‘scent’ of blood and venom made my nose twitch. I narrowed my eyes, but if anything, my awareness flickered and began to fade. So instead, I let my gaze unfocus until they all seemed to just be amorphous blobs of energy.

Definitely, those two are the most powerful… I refocused my gaze. One of the two powerful individuals was the largest, muscular and brutal, with shorn black hair. The other was small and slight, but with quick steps. But also…

My gaze went to the masked girl, the same one that the orange haired three-legger focused on. From her, I didn’t detect even a wisp of Mana. Just the vague scent of venom. Yet… how could she have earned her place amongst the eight without Mana?

Is it one of those situations where I cannot sense it? I felt uneasy. To be fair, I never felt Father’s energy unless he attempted to reveal it. But this was the first time I encountered someone closer to my age and experienced it. This girl…

“Her.” I pointed. Toby pursed his lips, but nodded.

Vernika didn’t hesitate. “Her? That’s stupid. She looks weak.”

“Discuss while working up a sweat,” The head Prefect clapped his hands together. I blinked when everyone, except our age group, instantly stood rigidly at attention. While we were looking around, he clapped twice more and everyone burst into motion. 

I signalled Toad, who knelt down and scrambled onto the hog. Yet no sooner had I gotten on top than Prefect Nightflower plucked me off by the back of my shirt and set me on the ground. Her eyes were twinkling. “Now now, young master Osiris. Wouldn’t be a shame to waste this excellent opportunity to improve your stamina?”

“Can our stamina actually improve while we have Child Role? Isn’t that why you keep us cooped up?” I grumbled. Immediately after I spoke, familiar notifications popped up in front of me.

Taboo seal has activated…

Due to special circumstances, individual has resisted the seal!

From the way Prefect Nightshade’s expression froze, I knew I had hit the nail on the head. But although she lived in a fantasy world, the Prefect was still an adult. She rapidly recovered and offered me a wry smile. “Still, mental discipline needs to be practiced from a young age, or you will have a difficult future. I must insist you run.”

Can we develop mental discipline through an afternoon jog? I felt frustrated, but understood that arguing wouldn’t help. The ultimate downfall of being a child, aside from my unreliable body, was that any argument I initiated would first be assumed to be… childish. By default. Only through repeated repudiations could I escape this impression. For now, it seemed impossible, so I shrugged and hurried after Toby.

We headed south along the river, moving from the low valley up a road draped across rising hills. Very soon, the incline had me sweating. Ten minutes of jogging later, as the zero-leggers lost sight of the other age groups ahead of us, I was feeling deep regret not insisting more fully on letting me ride Toad.

At twenty minutes, I promised horrific vengeance on the grizzled head prefect for his promise of a ‘light jog’.

Yet the road continued to slope upward. The situation didn’t improve. Sheets of sweat ran down my stomach and back. When the amount of running time increased to a half hour, I felt like I would die. And to be fair, I was one of the more able-bodied ones.

Albeit, still a three-year-old! My eyes reddened. At this point, I took steps sheerly out of spite.

My breath came out in periodic wheezes. Each step sent burning pain up and down my legs. Very much so, I wanted to collapse.

To my surprise… I didn’t. Another emotion began to eclipse my spite.

Fear.

I feared this world more than my body hurt. Seeing the muscular, scarred cohorts above me, I knew what would soon be required of me. And even a month later, I still occasionally woke up in the middle of the night, my chest constricted with horror as a man stabbed a dagger toward my heart. Every time I wanted to quit-

If I quit now, will I die next time?

A familiar image surfaced. The door, the golden handle, the green carpet. A gap I hadn’t been able to cross. A gulf of regret, lingering even through to a second life. I shivered and forced my legs to keep moving my feet.

As we all struggled with the incline, the zero-leggers gradually separated into three groups. At the front of the group was Toby, Vernika, and, to my surprise, the chubby boy who seemed so afraid of running. I barely made the cut of this group. Behind us a short distance was about five others kids, who barely managed to hang on, keeping pace with the sedate strides of Prefect Nightshade.

Behind them… over half of the zero-leggers became a straggling line. And after a sufficient space opened up in that line, I suspected that many would simply stop and collapse. Could they regain their momentum and continue later…? I suspected not.

Yet I didn’t have the spare energy for empathy. Everything was consumed by running.

Warning! You have engaged in intense exercise beyond your capabilities!

You have earned the Temporary Trait Exhausted (Six Hours).

Exhausted: Your mind is foggy, your energy recovery is slow, and you are more prone to making mistakes. Your physical coordination drops.

Just as the notification popped up, we reached the top of the hill. I wobbled and fell on my butt. It was somewhat rewarding to see that Vernika had similarly reached her limit, but collapsed forward onto her face. Only by hanging onto Toad’s snout could I stagger to standing.

Soon, the Prefect arrived, looking unruffled. A gasping group of children trailed after her. I gave the Prefect a hateful glare for what she had put me through. Now, at least six hours would be ruined for grinding. However, the Prefect just smiled in the face of my glare. Turning away from the other children, she mouthed a single word at me.

Score.

My irritation faded, albeit slowly. I straightened. Although the notification wasn’t very detailed… it did include the line ‘beyond your capability’. Truly, my body had been wrung out like a rag. Considering the methods outlined by the Prefect for Score, it made sense this effort would yield results. 

“We have arrived.” The Prefect glanced back over her shoulder. “We shall wait for a few minutes, so those of you who have made it here, rest up. Soon we will head below, to the arena.”

I looked down the hill, toward a low stone colosseum built in a protrusion of land that stretched into the river. Toby clenched his fist. “How long will it take before we are the ones fighting in the arena…?”

I sighed. “It will be shorter than you think. It always is.”

Ten minutes later, we began our descent. Of the nineteen children in the zerolegged group, five did not make it in time. Prefect Nightflower sent other attendants back to collect them. I wondered whether they would remain a part of the inner hand cloister in the future. The test had the benefit of the score… but was there punishment lurking on the other side?

When we arrived at the arena, the rest of the kids had already gone through. Only the eight competitors waited outside the arena, standing tall and aloof for our inspection.

I made my pick: Sarai Li.

I believed the girl whose Mana I could not sense would win the tournament.