Martial Arts Worlds

Crack~

Twigs cracked under his boot, and with his knee-length coat swaying dramatically in the wind, Kiernan trudged silently in the forest.

With the True Moon's crimson glow accompanying his walk, he arrived shortly in the vicinity of the dark cave and could feel the chill of its entrance on his skin.

"The Game… It had been a while."

Kiernan stopped by its entrance and looked towards the stone tablet that showed the current times, making his eyebrow slightly raise.

"The times sure have improved since I last came here."

***

[1. Zeus Abracadabra - 05:59.199]

[2. Kiernan Hunter - 05:59.223]

[3. Messiah Abracadabra - 06:01.007]

[4. Christmas Abracadabra - 06:05.691

[5. Jason Arcanielago - 06:11.421]

[6. Rain Abracadabra - 06:19.111]

[7. Light Abracadabra - 06:21.333]

[8. Cash Abracadabra - 06:23.000]

[9. Yvette Montrose - 07:01.022]

[10. Justus Arcanielago - 07:02.999]

***

'I see some new names as well. Arcanielago Family, huh? I haven't heard of them before, but they must be another noble family of these nearby waters.

'So, Zeus beat me, huh. Not by much, and it took him close to a year, but I believed that my time was very strong.

'However, of course I am stronger than I was a year ago. It doesn't matter how much higher my rank is, but the strength itself… I am much more powerful now.'

Kiernan tossed his coat inside his inventory, cracked his knuckles, and stood at the starting line of the cave.

'If I remember correctly—first is the climbing obstacle, then there are those fighting statues, then uphill with chains, then water, and lastly the bullet.'

Kiernan nodded, quickly warmed up by stretching his limbs, and slowly eased into his sprinting stance.

Crack~

The ground softly cracked under his right foot.

Swoosh!

With a quick lunge, Kiernan entered the cave, and the time started ticking down slowly, but with just quick steps already, he arrived at the climbing wall.

With his leg muscles straining against the fabric of his trousers, he leaped off the ground, grabbed a hold, and started climbing like a man on a mission.

Even though he couldn't remember all the holds, he made rapid advancement towards the halfway mark of the climb.

And at that moment, he arrived at the small gap at the halfway mark, and without any hesitation, he leaped and grabbed the hold above the gap.

"Huff!"

Kiernan pulled himself up and continued climbing.

It didn't take long for him to arrive at the top, and as soon as he finished climbing, he exploded into a sprint and made his way through the dark hallway.

At that moment, some distance away, the ceiling collapsed, and four towering golems appeared in his way with a look of madness.

Swoosh!

Kiernan dashed forward, placed his fist in front of him, and smashed through every stone golem in his path, reducing them to rubble and dust.

"Iron Style, Iron Smashing Bolt!"

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Without staying behind to marvel at the scene of destruction, he already leapt ahead towards the next challenge and saw the steep hill creeping up on him.

Gritting his teeth, he arrived at the bottom of the hill and immediately began to ascend it, but it didn't take long for the hill to start shaking.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

The chains slashed towards him, but without letting them catch him, Kiernan screamed and accelerated into a faster gear and arrived at the top of the hill before those chains could catch him.

In front of his eyes, the dangerous waters appeared in front of him, and with his instincts, he could sense some danger lurking beneath the surface.

At that moment, Kiernan stepped on the surface of the water and started running on top of it as if it was made out of solid road!

"Iron Style, Water Walking!"

Splash! Splash! Splash!

With splashing footsteps, he crossed the water and arrived at the dry ground, the exit of the cave looming in front of him.

He was almost out!

BANG!

At that moment, the gunshot sounded, and like a raging bull, the bullet swooshed towards him, but Kiernan, with quick reflexes, dodged out of the way just in time.

The gun clocked inside the wall and shot one more bullet.

BANG!

"Rendering Edge!"

Kiernan smacked the bullet towards the ceiling, and it went straight through the ceiling, lodging itself between two rocks.

With a leap towards the bright exit, Kiernan ran through and exited back outside, right in front of the Game, with the cold winds of the World Seas whipping his hair back and forth.

"Whoo~"

Kiernan combed his hair back with his hand and turned his gaze to the time that he achieved.

"Well, good luck with that~"

[FINAL TIME!]

[05:29.101]

…

With a smile on her face, Bella entered a lounge room, where the family members of Abracadabra hung around in front of a fireplace and a massive window that showed the True Moon in all its glory.

The party with all the nobles had ended, and they headed back to their own lodges, but the ones with the Abracadabra name gathered here.

"Bella~"

Nevaeh waved to her little sister and looked flushed red as if she had taken a little bit too much wine today.

Karl-Michael looked away from the window, showing an almost childish smile towards Bella, and then turned back to the moon, thinking that he had won.

It took one long year, but finally that name had dropped down from the first place, but it wasn't enough yet.

He wanted to do a project to push him out of the top ten, but it would definitely take time, but he didn't mind now as long as he wasn't in first place.

Zeus sat on the windowsill, gazing towards the moon with a drunk smile, as he also took a little bit more during the party as he was celebrating.

With his achievement of returning the top spot back to their family, he was awarded a reward that he had been dreaming of for years.

A very own castle at the Abracadabra family's owned island. It meant that he was going to be ruler of his very own island.

"I feel like a party pooper right now, but I do have some… news for you all."

Bella said with a smile, brought out her phone from her pocket, and checked the photograph she had received just a second ago.

"What are you talking about, Bella?"

Karl-Michael asked with a frown.

"I think it is better for you to see it first~"

Bella replied, showing him the photo on her phone, and when he saw that, the glass of wine in his hand shattered.

It was a picture of stone tablet, standing in front of the Game's cave, and the name at the top made Karl-Michael's blood pressure rise higher than ever.

Everyone quieted down and looked over, realizing that it must've been horrible news for him to make such a reaction.

"He is here?"

Karl-Michael's face turned red, and he screamed hoarsely.

"LOCK DOWN THE ISLAND! THAT BASTARD WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO TAKE A STEP OUT OF THIS ISLAND! ARE YOU ALL HEARING ME?!"