165 Chapter 165
«Let the fight begin.» - Kirsan said and blurred into the direction of his opponent with an evil grin.
The examiner's speed and mood suggested his instant, maybe even bloody victory. Some in the audience naively believed he would have mercy on Kyon, despite the recently experienced humiliation. Even Kirsan would have to pay for the murder of a young Stone, and a lot.
With a precise movement, Kyon instantly pulled out a dark silver object with an oblong muzzle from his spatial ring and aimed it at the examiner's head.
~bang~
There was a deafening clap, and immediately after it, a heartbreaking cry. Kirsan grasped his eye with his hand, scarlet red liquid started dripping through his fingers onto the floor. He was seriously injured.
Kyon impassively blew smoke from the muzzle of his gun and said:
«I've passed the test.»
All the spectators reflexively got up from their seats, their jaws dropped.
The two elders, Diana, Bai, Juno, and Stephanie thought they were hallucinating. But Kirsan's infernal, blood-curdling scream couldn't be fake.
Did the kid injure a reputable examiner who belonged to the top 30 in the family?
«He won… instantly?» - Juno whispered in disbelief.
«Gods! How did he do it?!» - Diana exclaimed, surprised.
«I'LL DESTROY YOU! I'LL KILL YOU, VERMIN!» - Kirsan roared angrily and looked with his only eye at the enemy, but he was long gone! Kyon already bent his knee before the patriarch.
Kirsan headed toward the stands. No sooner had he raised his arm to strike and nearly hit Kyon's head that the patriarch grabbed his fist and pushed him away.
«The exam is over. Kyon has been qualified. You are free to go.» - Bai said imperiously.
«W-what?! But he wounded me with an attacking formation! You must execute him in punishment!» - Kirsan was himself. He kept yelling while his scarlet blood dripped to the floor.
Everything was pretty straightforward for him: a little undeveloped bird was not equal to an eagle. But Kirsan was not aware that Kyon was Juno's "friend."
Bai stood upright that made him more formidable.
«Everyone here will confirm the complete absence of energy fluctuations during that attack. The boy had complied with the terms of the third test. You are free to go. Don't make me say it again.»
Kirsan turned pale and nearly suffocated from helplessness. He cast a hateful look at Kyon, bowed to the patriarch, and left the hall, still grasping on his bleeding eye.
Two minutes ago, the adult audience despised Kyon for his sneaky tricks and conspiracy with the youth. Now they took him for a monster. They couldn't understand how he did that.
«How did you do it, son?» - Bai asked and laid his hand on Kyon's shoulder.
Diana, the elders, and Stephanie came closer to Kyon.
«It's all about the weapon my master gave me, sir.» - Kyon took out his gun. – «It is a pistol, a more improved version of the crossbow. My master's exclusive development! The only copy.»
Bai carefully took the weighty metal barrel and examined it with interest. The weapon passed from hand to hand until Juno grasped it so hard they had difficulty to take it away from her.
«Could you show again how it works?»
«Sure.»
Kyon fired ten deafening shots in a couple of seconds, drawing an asterisk with holes on the far wall.
«Gods! How fast the arrows fly!» … «He made ten attacks in a couple of seconds! Even the repeating crossbow of the Astrals shoots much more slowly! What an amazing result!..» - The elders were delighted.
Now Bai could clearly see the insane speed of the bullet. Of course, he could catch one, but ten in two seconds? He would have to give it his best shot!
«It's a great weapon.» - The patriarch concluded in an approving tone, admiring the gun with an experienced eye of an armorer. – «The speed of arrows and the frequency of shots surpasses any other distant weapons. Gods, have I really lived to a new era of arms?!»
The patriarch's conclusion surprised many. However, his words sounded convincing, given the holes in the wall and ringing in the ears.
Juno was the most shocked of them all: {How did he invent it?! Ho-o-o-o-ow?! Can he really have a master?!} – She wanted to fall to her knees and curse heaven in despair. She had millions of questions in her head, and no one would answer them.
Kyon understood quite well the shock of the audience. He even worried a little about Stephanie's life. What if they kill her as an unnecessary witness? It was unlikely, though. She was the elder's daughter, after all.
The dwarves had flawlessly repeated everything written in the drafts, including the consistency of gunpowder, the shape and design of the gun. The seemingly ordinary gun represented a whole set of technologies, not been available to this world for next thousands of years. And yet, the dwarves did an excellent job. Take the chemical formula of alpha powder alone! It could be mass produced even without adequate technology. The shape of the gun, its weight, the cut of the barrel, minimum of details, the general efficiency, and much more: it was impeccable. Could the dwarves understand at least 10% of the miracle that they created?
Even if Kyon had explained every detail and action on several pages so clearly that even a child could figure it out, it was quite impressive that they could create alpha powder and the gun just in two weeks! Kyon knew that the dwarves would cope. He knew that they could give the metal (i.e. the parts) an ideal shape with minimal errors with the help of the earth element. In his world, they would need at least some primitive machines to work with metals. In this world, the earth element could really work wonders.
Actually, the net power of one shot of the gun is not so dangerous. Three thousand joules failed to kill the unprepared Nobleman of the first stage with an eyeshot. If Kirsan had used pure energy for his defense the gun would be nothing but an annoying toy.
Kyon had already given the dwarves a model of the sniper that would be ten times more powerful. And still, if Kirsan protected himself with pure energy, the result wouldn't change.
The inertia of a bullet is one thing, but the amount of pure energy is quite another. If an ordinary person shoots a simple arrow, nothing terrible will happen. But if it were Bai or Kara, their pure energy inside the arrow would crush a small stone house. The main advantage of firearms is rapid energy transportation. That is why Kyon focused on the speed of the bullet when creating the model of the gun,
A gun would become a powerful weapon in the hands of a well-developed practitioner, to say nothing of a sniper! Meanwhile, Kyon had to settle for the effect of surprise.
Kyon had infused the bullet with pure energy before shooting Kirsan in the eye. He had to make sure it would pierce the cornea. If Kyon had infused the shell with darkness, it would hurt like hell.
Kirsan had underestimated his enemy and threw caution to the wind. If he had better reflexes or if he hadn't reduced his development to the first stage (that's exam ethic), he would have reacted more quickly and defended himself with pure energy. And then Kyon was in for an inevitable defeat.
«What's your master's name?» - Bai asked.
«Lovr.» - Kyon answered and looked at Juno. Lots of different emotions reflected in her big, beautiful eye. He could feel them all in his soul. It was so wonderful to feel her heart hurt. He enjoyed tearing to pieces the silly expectations of the little devil.
«Kyon, your master can't be an ordinary person, respectively, either his student. Tell me, how long is it since you have connected with your spirit?» - Bai inquired. He felt there was a catch. This average boy couldn't possibly have a master who had created such a fantastic weapon. Even he couldn't comprehend its structure. It was too complicated.
«Three months ago.»
The elders coughed. Stephanie, Diana, and Bai stared at the boy, stunned.
«Is it possible to develop so fast?!» - Juno's mother asked.
Bai didn't feel even a hint of a lie. He looked around and then headed to the exit.
«Follow me, everyone.»
The six people left the battle hall, entered the main family building, and then the spacious patriarch's office.
Bai drew the curtains on the windows and ordered the guards not to let anyone in.
The atmosphere in the room looked like a secret meeting.
The patriarch pulled a device to check the purity of the keys out of his spatial ring and came up to Kyon.
«Do you mind if I assess your innate talent?»
«Sure, go ahead.»
Bai took a deep breath after the check-up.
«Incredible... His total stream is 450%!»
The stream is the sum of purity of all the nine elements. The maximum possible is 900%.
«Оh!» … «It can't be! He is so talented… No one in our family has so pure keys!» … «Elsa had a bigger stream. But his is big enough.» - Diana finished, looking at Kyon with interest.
Kyon didn't waste his time during the last two weeks. He was well prepared for the qualification, and also took into consideration all the ensuing events. He had infused his keys with Synergy to trick the device. It annihilated with the incoming energy, and there was just the right amount at the output. The device took the lost energy for the impurity of the channel.
«How many elements do you bend, young man?» - Bai asked.
«Five.» - Kyon answered calmly.
«It can't be! You're lying!» … «It's impossible! Heavenly geniuses are born once every decade in the whole empire!» - The elders were skeptical.
«Show us, please.» - Diana asked, lacing her fingers together.
Kyon released pure energy, then the earth element, and then the cold. When the elders saw the light element, the elders shuddered. Diana and Bai froze in anticipation. When the element of darkness appeared, one of the elders staggered and almost fell. His wife picked up his hefty body just in time. Diana covered her mouth with her hand, and Bai ran his fingers through his gray hair. Stephanie looked like she had hit on the back of her head.
«Heavenly genius who bends darkness and light! Awesome! Fate took pity on the Stones!» - Bai exclaimed reverently.
It was known that heaven sent its geniuses to create history. And what good luck! One of them was a Stone. More than that, he had a mysterious master with terrible weapons.
Juno looked enviously at her assistant and bit her lips in frustration. Just think about it! Her family surrounded the boy and look at him with reverence, just as they did at Elsa once. Juno was so eager to be looked at with adoration and fire in the hearts ...
She did not understand how Kyon managed to achieve impossible goals. Lady Fortune helped him at the party, and he became the leader of the Stones. He didn't give a damn about her mockery or warning and achieved his another goal. He would become a descendant of direct blood! The once pathetic slave and servant had sunk into oblivion. Her grandfather and mother looked at someone with unprecedented interest for the first time in many years.
Juno was even more desperate to know the answers to hundreds of questions in her head. But Kyon had promised to tell her everything only after she kissed him on the lips. - {SCREW HIM!} – She yelled in her head.
Kyon reveled in ecstasy. Juno's emotions were priceless! The bad girl was suffering.
«Father... I am afraid that even a heavenly genius won't help in our situation. The tournament is just around the corner, and the boy is completely unprepared. He needs several years of hard training…»
The patriarch asked, nodding thoughtfully:
«Did you defeat Tsayan, who I heard too much about, with a gun?»
«By no means.» - Kyon objected. – «I won on my own. I suppose the younger generation didn't lie to you.»
«Nonsense! It is impossible to defeat the enemy, who is thirteen stages higher in development! Children tend to exaggerate and make up things.» - The elder said and frowned at Stephanie, previously accused in spreading the lies.
«Juno, confirm my words. They will believe you.» - Kyon asked.
Everyone fixed their eyes on the girl. However, many of them did not understand why the young talent spoke so disrespectfully to the young lady. Did they know each other well?
«It's true... He won on his own.» - Juno said against her will. – «He moves very quickly... Besides... His rock is too strong… And the level of his battle fist...» - Juno stopped in the mid-sentence and turned away. She had a lump in her throat. To praise Kyon? No way! She was not mentally prepared for that.
«Hmm… Did the first two qualification tests go without any conspiracy?» - The patriarch was surprised.
Stephanie nodded vehemently. He had knocked her down fair and square! Let them think better of her. Yeah.
Then Kyon showed his unique speed, as well as the rock adamantium. Also, he carelessly withstood the full pressure of the patriarch and the other elders. After that, all their suspicions were dispelled, and their interest in his person increased significantly.
Everyone took the boy for a genius monster whose talent was worthy of heaven. Well, almost everyone...
Bai and Diana tried to make an appointment with his master, but Kyon gave them a firm no, referring to Laural's indifference to all kinds of meetings with unnecessary or uninteresting people.
Then the patriarch and his daughter wanted details of his personal life. They learned that he was an orphan who had wandered with his master for many years and only recently returned to his extended family. When they asked him how he had met Juno, Kyon only said "it's a secret."
When the conversation came to a logical conclusion, Bai took everyone's frequency and said that he would call everyone the next day to appoint an important meeting. Then everyone left.
Only the patriarch and his daughter stayed in the room.
«What do you think of Kyon, daughter?»
«The boy is talented, indeed! He has a great future. Perhaps one day he will catch up with Elsa. His master is too mysterious... After I've seen his amazing technique of movement and super-hard rock, I don't think the stories about TsyJi are stupid anymore. His gun is so scary! I wouldn't worry about the future of our family if we had the opportunity to establish relations with the Lovr. However, his apprentice has terrible manners. Did you hear how he spoke to Kirsan? It was outrageous! It made me sick to hear…»
«He has a strong character.» - Bai agreed. – «But in the end, Kirsan was to blame. He had been lying in our faces! Basically the boy's rude attitude towards the examiner was quite justified. I will put it like this, he is straightforward and does not hide his true attitude towards people. It's a huge advantage for us that he does not lie and, most likely, is gullible. We can build good relationships with him and then get his master on our side. He might even give us a couple of pistols... What do you think, Diana, how can we get the boy attached to our family?»
Diana drummed her fingers on her knee and said:
«Let him marry Juno.»
«It's out of the question!» - Bai snapped, overwhelmed with her suggestion. – «I am sorry… It's just he has terrible manners and rude.»
«But you justified him a minute ago!» - Diana objected.
«Never mind! I made my mind long ago. I won't arrange Juno's marriage. I want her to marry for love. Unless she likes Kyon, then…» - He paused. – «Then I'll think about it.»
Diana had an idea that she immediately shared with her father.
Bai was surprised at first, but after a few minutes of careful consideration, he nodded.
«That's what we'll do.» - concluded Bai. – «But I want it to be a surprise for the boy. Let's keep it quiet for now. Tomorrow I will organize a meeting for the top Stones and not only them. Let everyone know! We will also hold the ceremony there. We can no longer afford to wait.»
Diana nodded in agreement. She must get ready for the important day tomorrow.
