(13)->THE TEST-2

" " - Dialogue

' ' - Thoughts

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--(POV)--

-(TIME GAP)-

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---CLIFF OF THE BACK MOUNTAIN---

--Seiya's POV--

-30 minutes later-

Seiya: "*Huff* *Huff* Finally made it."

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After passing through various hurdles, which included jumping over a gap in the mountainous trail to climbing rocky steps arranged in a puzzling order, both of which would have resulted in me falling down the mountain had I failed, I finally made it to the cliff, sweat covering every part of my body, my breath strained and the new karate gi torn and tattered in many spots.

Looking on ahead, I could see two silhouettes, which clearly belonged to my father and sensei, waiting for my arrival. However, before I could move any further, my sensei's loud voice sounded in my ears,

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Bang: "Congratulations Seiya! After passing through the various trials of might and wit, you have finally made it to your destination. Initially, you would have to take one final hurdle before you completed this test. However taking your current state into account, you now have the option to end this test right here without incurring any sort of penalty. Note that this final hurdle is much more dangerous than any of the ones you faced before with no additional benefit involved whatsoever. Think it over and tell me your decision."

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--Author-san's POV--

-5 minutes later-

Ryoma: "He is sure taking his time."

Looking at Bang who had asked Seiya for his decision, Ryoma stated. Bang, without turning to him, replied,

Bang: "Heh, he is a smart one. He is simply biding his time so that he can recover as much as possible."

Ryoma: "I still don't get how you come up with such explanations?"

Bang: "If you put his age aside and assume that he is a fighter like us, you will notice that all of his actions make perfect sense. This is why I say that you underestimate your son. He is a genius and one on a level unheard of before."

Ryoma: "No matter, I can only see him as my son, not as a fighter."

Not wanting to argue about the level of his son's genius with Bang right now, Ryoma changed the subject by asking another question that plagued his mind,

Ryoma: "But why did you have to challenge him for this final hurdle?"

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His friend could have just placed the final hurdle before the cliff if he wanted Seiya to face it. Instead, he asked Seiya to make his choice so he must have had some other intention as well.

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Bang: "Haven't you noticed that Seiya seems to have an inherent sense of pride?"

Ryoma: "Hm-hm, yes I have. What of it?"

Bang: "I am just testing how prideful he really is."

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Seiya was prideful and though he never displayed it outwardly, it was clear from his mannerisms and actions and why shouldn't he be prideful? Born in a prestigious clan as the Tatsuma, to great parents with talent and potential to boot. Add onto the fact that he was constantly reminded of such regularly by his 'admirers'. In such circumstances, even a saint would become prideful, or at least that was what Ryoma and Bang believed.

Little did they know how wrong they were. Other than his parents, none of the other things mattered to Seiya, neither being from a prestigious clan nor having admirers. As for having the great talent and potential, that too was part of his luck and part of the effort he had put in to claim the <Dragon Core>. If Seiya was proud of something other than his family, then it was his identity as a warrior that he gained in Ixphoria.

Coming back to the matter at hand, Ryoma's curiosity was not yet sated,

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Ryoma: "But what would you do if Seiya does not accept your challenge?"

Bang: "Then it will be proven that instead of being prideful, Seiya has been arrogant instead and I will then have to work on it before I taught him anything else."

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Ryoma was about to inquire further when he noticed Seiya, coming forward, eyes filled with determination, most likely to announce his decision of taking on the challenge if his eyes were anything to go by with, rendering Ryoma's earlier query moot.

Just as Bang had deduced earlier, despite his hurting pride, which had been deeply wounded by his sensei's dagger-like taunting words, Seiya had kept himself calm and bided his time, recovering as much as he could before he faced this final hurdle. Stopping 500 meters from their standing spot, Seiya bowed down and spoke, as loudly as he could,

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Seiya: "I would like to face your final trial, sensei!"

Bang: "Very well then. Do you see the circular ring that has been marked to your right?"

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Seiya turned to where his sensei was pointing and saw the circular ring he had been referring to approximately 200 meters northwest. It was a ring made up of rocks that hid it in plain sight covering a plain circular area of ground. Receiving a nod in return from his student, Bang continued,

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Bang: "Go and stand over there, inside the ring. Your final trial would then begin."

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As Seiya made his way to the ring, Ryoma turned towards Bang and asked,

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Ryoma: "What is the aim of this final hurdle anyway?"

Bang: "He He He, I just want to teach him a bit of humility and tone his pride down a bit. Pride has its benefits but excess of anything can be harmful so it is better to keep it in check."

Ryoma: "But that is considering Seiya would definitely lose. What if he wins in the end?"

Bang: "The chances of that happening is close to nil, except in the case that he can last for over 10 minutes of rigorous physical activity. You know, if not for the fact that it would have been unfair to Seiya, I would have pitted him against myself."

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--Seiya's P.O.V.--

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Coming up to the marked spot inside the ring, I was about to look towards my sensei when the ground started reverberating. Looking around, I spotted the source of the vibrations to be coming from a nearby huge rock when suddenly,

*BOOM*

The rock exploded, revealing a metallic humanoid figure!

I have seen quite a lot of entrances during my time in Ixphoria, but in terms of 'uniqueness', this one definitely takes the cake. Shaking off my surprise, I took a closer look at the figure that had emerged in front of him. With a height matching my father's own but twice his width, sporting a single red eye right in the middle of his 'face' along with a metallic frame, the figure was most likely a humanoid robot.

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Seiya: 'I have to beat this thing?!'

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--Author-san's POV--

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Ryoma: "What the hell is that thing?!"

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Ryoma could not help but exclaim at the sight of the robotic figure in front of Seiya, after all, if that thing somehow hit Seiya then he would no doubt be seriously injured. However, Bang, having expected such reaction from him, replied in a calm voice.

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Bang: "The newest battle droid prototype designed by Shield Labs for military-grade training exercises. They wanted a test subject to collect data on their latest specimen and I volunteered."

Ryoma: "...Military-grade???"

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Seeing the blank look Ryoma was giving him, Bang clarified,

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Bang: "You know I had to make this task next to impossible for Seiya, and with reinforced titanium plates, this is the only thing that could guarantee that Seiya would be unable to punch through its metallic body. Don't worry, no firearms are installed in this prototype and I have made sure that the force behind its punches would not do serious damage to Seiya."

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But Ryoma had yet to ask a serious question from Bang,

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Ryoma: "By the way, what was with that ridiculous entrance of that thing?"

Bang: "..."

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Seemingly ignoring Ryoma's question, Bang moved on to announce Seiya's final trial.

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--Seiya's POV--

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Just as I was speculating how to defeat the abomination in front of me, my sensei's words once again sounded loudly in my ears,

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Bang: "You will now face the final trial of this test. For the next 10 minutes, your only goal will be to survive against the onslaught of attacks from the foe present before you but beware, you must not go outside the ring. Doing so would signal your defeat. If you are conscious when the time ends, you will pass the test. Is that clear?"

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Well, that made things simple was what someone else would have thought but I knew that there was no way I was going to last 10 minutes against the robot in front of me, not in my current state unless it moved as slow as it is as big. Still, this was my choice and I was going to see it through to the end. Taking a deep breath, I yelled loudly,

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Seiya: "Hai Sensei!"

Bang: "Then your time starts now!"

*Swish*

Just as sensei finished speaking, a robotic arm punched through the air towards me. Transforming my legs at once, I leaped backwards and flipping over, moved further behind in order to gain some space. Even so I had underestimated the robot's speed and it appeared right before me before I could even to think about what to do next.

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Seiya: 'Damn it! How come it's so nimble with all that weight its carrying?'

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And heavy it was, a fact quite evident with the reverberations that were produced with its each step. Though I was not any specialist about robots but, I could still tell that in exchange of moving so nimbly, the load on its power source must be huge, meaning that it would not be able to continue for long, most likely for a little over 10 minutes considering the time sensei gave me for this trial. Unfortunately, this weakness did not change anything, leaving me but one option that could lead me to victory - to defeat the metallic abomination present before me.

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--Author-san's POV--

-1 minute later-

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Ryoma only had one word for the fight going in front of him - a chase. It was simply a chase where the droid was the one chasing and Seiya was the one being chased. Seiya wanted to counterattack but he simply could not. His punches did nothing to the droid's reinforced titanium frame leaving him no option but to dodge the onslaught of attacks. As for the red 'eye' that was made up circular glass screen and seemingly the droid's only weakness, Seiya wasn't able to even get close to it with the droid's speed in his way.

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Ryoma: "Teaching humility isn't the only aim of this trial, is it?"

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Ryoma could not help but arrive at this conclusion from the sight in front of him. There could have been many other ways to teach humility to Seiya but this, this was simply crushing him and his fighting spirit. Bang did not immediately answer his friend's question, and in lieu took on a reminiscing expression. After a few moments, he answered,

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Bang: "I want to him to experience what we experienced on the night sensei left us."

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Bang's words took Ryoma by surprise as he thoughts turned back to that night but realizing that it was not time for reminiscing, he turned his attention back to Bang and loudly asked,

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Ryoma: " But why would you bring that up all of a sudden?!"

Bang: "Because I wanted to see what Seiya would do when despite trying everything within his ability, he would be able to do and change nothing. Would he still be able to remain standing when his pride crumbles? Or would he too crumble with his crumbling pride just like we did; just like I did."

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A sigh escaped Bang's lips as he said the last part, a clear indication of his weariness and dreadfulness he still felt whenever he remembered that night. Although Ryoma understood his friend's feelings, that still did not justify his action.

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Ryoma: "Why do you keep forgetting the fact that Seiya is only a child? What if you severely affected his spirit? What if such an experience traumatizes him? Not even most adults have the mental fortitude to continue in an activity once they are crushed by their opposition and you expect Seiya to be able to cope with it!"

Bang: "And why don't you understand that Seiya is not an ordinary child who can be compared according to standard norms? Look, I believe that Seiya can become stronger through this trial just like how I believe him to be the hope of our future, and this final trial, in addition to Seiya, tests my beliefs as well. And even in the worst case scenario, I promise I will make sure that Seiya is fine, both mentally and physically and you know I always keep my word."

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Ryoma could only massage his temples as he deliberated on what to do. On one hand was a father who desperately wanted to protect his child from any and all dangers while on the other was a father who wanted to believe in his son and was afraid to hamper his growth because of his overprotectiveness.

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Ryoma: "*sigh* Just make sure that he is all right."

Bang: "You know I will."

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\\Author's Thoughts//

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We have hit the 50000 words mark with 4 times the no. of views and 1000 collections at the time of writing this chapter. Not very impressive but we have come far from the first chapter when there were only tens of views and no collections.

This chapter came a bit later than intended mainly because I changed what I had originally thought to be the final trial. In fact, it was supposed to have been finished within this chapter but I ended up extending it instead. Anyway, the next chapter would come next week maybe on Monday or latest by Tuesday.

Continue to support this fanfic and please share your ideas and thoughts in the chapter comments and reviews. See you next time. Güle güle.

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