Old Rvialries #29

Two months later

Karate Island, White Cub Town, the docks

'There's a lot of ships today,' I mused, my hands in my pocket as I strolled through the port, looking around the various stalls with merchants standing behind them and trying to sell various goods.

It's been almost four months since I started practicing with Liu Fan, and according to him, I was halfway through mastering Shaolin Kung Fu, though he still refused to teach me the six powers.

He said something about the martial art slowly changing my body to give me the muscles control I'd need to learn the six powers, and I was definitely feeling some differences in that regard.

I could now move my body in ways that I thought were impossible. I'd also achieved complete control over my movement, enabling me to halt the momentum of my attacks and shift their direction whenever and however I wished.

Naturally, I learned some cool but impractical moves to impress the ladies since that was a necessity acording to my teacher. And although learning such moves was a colossal waste of time, it was still fun in its own way, so I didn't mind.

Ultimately, I didn't mind waiting as I was quickly growing more powerful, and the training was already paying dividends even without the six powers, but you get the idea.

"Hmm?" I intoned and stopped walking as I heard a loud gunshot. "What's this about...?" I muttered as I turned to investigate the source of the sound and found a man dressed as a merchant holding a smoking gun as he pointed it in the air.

"Behold! The evolution of self-defense arms, the revolver pistol!" The man exclaimed, showcasing the revolve as he raised high for all to see. "Not only is it capable of holding more bullets than the regular flintlocks, but it can also fire rapidly...!" He added as he fired five more shots, promptly emptying the gun's chamber.

"It's easy to reload..." The man said as he flicked the gun, opened the chamber, and quickly inserted six bullets. "Incredibly accurate...!" He added as he shot one of six rum bottles on the edge of the docks.

"Extremely quick and deadly!" The man said as he rapidly shot the five remaining bottles with surprising accuracy, causing them all to shatter one after the other. "And it can be yours for the negligible price of ten thousand Beris!" He concluded, grandly spreading his arms apart.

"Look around you, idiot!" Said one of the martial artists spectating the gun dealer. "We rely on our fists here! Guns are for weaklings!" He added, and the other people began booing the merchant at his words.

"That looks interesting..." I said, ignoring the peanut gallery as I walked to the man with a smile. "Do you mind if I give it a try...?" I added as I expectantly extended my hand toward him.

"But of course," The man said, beaming at me as he put the gun in my hand. "That'll be fifty Beri for every bullet," He added, and it was now his turn to extend his hand toward me with an expectant expression.

"You're ripping me off, but whatever..." I added as I fished the Beris, gave them to the man, and took the bullets before slowly loading them into the gun. "Got any more targets lying around...?" I asked, and he nodded as he retrieved several empty bottles from his before lining them on the edge of the docks.

"Let's see..." I muttered as I raised the revolver, aimed at the first bottle, and fired, completely missing my mark. "It's got quite the nasty kick..." I said, raising an eyebrow as I turned to the man.

"Naturally..." The man said without bothering to argue. "It takes some getting used to, but in the right hands and under a keen eye, a revolver can hit as accurately as one of them fancy marine sniper rifles..." He added with a shrug.

"Is that so..." I said with a smile as I fired another shot, missing only by an inch this time as I accounted for the kick and held the revolver firmly. "I think I've got the hang of it now..." I added, which only earned me a skeptical look from the merchant.

I didn't pay him any heed as I raised the gun and fired the third bullet, accurately hitting the center of the bottle and shattering it before shooting the two remaining projectiles and hitting my mark.

"I'll take seven revolvers and ten boxes of bullets for fifty thousand..." I said with a grin, pocketing the revolver as I turned the merchant. "How does that sound...?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Fifty thousand? You're breaking my balls, man..." The merchant said with an affronted look. "That would barely cover my costs..." He added, firmly shaking his head.

"I can do sixty-five..." He concluded.

"Nah, fifty-five... that's my final offer..." I said as I retrieved several wads of cash from my backpack and put them on the merchant's stall. "Take it or leave it..." I concluded with a careless shrug.

"You drive a hard bargain, my good man..." The merchant said with the fakest sigh, prompting me to roll my eyes at his poor acting skills. "But you have a deal!" He added, quickly pocketing my money before he started sorting out my order.

He quickly boxed everything for me, and I was ready to take it when I heard footsteps and a mocking voice sounded behind me. "Why am I not surprised it's the pretty boy buying a gun..."

Heaving a sigh, I turned around to see who was talking and saw a tall man, even taller than me, dressed in a white karate Dogi outfit. "Whatever you say, Hill..." I dismissively said, rolling my eyes as I took the box from the merchant, fully intent on ignoring the newcomer.

The man, Hill, was a martial arts student and a resident of White Cub town like myself. I had already encountered him several times in the bar, and he was less than pleasant every time as he always tried to get a rise out of me, but I just ignored him for the most part.

Apparently, Hill's teacher, Hora, had something of a rivalry with Liu Fan in their young days, and this guy was trying to project that onto me in a lame attempt to honor his mentor.

I didn't care for it, but I still asked Liu Fan about it. He told me he had no idea who this Hora guy was, leading me to believe this alleged rivalry was one-sided. And with that in mind, I was content to ignore Hill's existence.

"Excuse me, fellas..." I said with a smile, squeezing in between the crowd with my box as I headed from the port's exit, much to the displeasure of Hill and his band of goons.

"Is it any wonder he has to rely on guns...?" Hill said with a mocking chuckle. "With a teacher like that dirty old pervert, it's a miracle he could even muster up the strength to hold that pussy stick..." He added, prompting me to sigh and halt my steps as his goons began laughing.

"You just insulted my teacher..." I blankly said as I slowly turned to face Hill and his goons, much to their surprise. "You realize that's all the excuse I could ever need to kill you right here and now, don't you...?" I asked, my tone growing colder with every word I spoke.

Hill seemed to realize he had spoken out of term, but as he looked around and saw his goons looking at him with fawning expressions, he could only grit his teeth and stand his ground.

"And what about it, eh?" Hill said with a scowl. "It's not like you could do anything about it, pretty boy..." He added, flexing his muscles as he walked toward me, trying and failing to intimidate me.

"Maybe I didn't make myself clear..." I said, flashing a friendly smile at Hill as I spoke. "Apologize, or I will kill you, rip you to pieces, and feed you to the fucking fish..." I calmly added, looking him straight in the eye.

"Fuck you and that old--" He said, and I cut him off midsentence with a light jab to his windpipe, causing him to literally choke on his words as he fell on his knees and coughed.

"That's enough out of you..." I said, sighing as I looked down at Hill, who was still coughing on the ground. "I gave you a chance, but you kept asking for it," I added, jumping back as one of Hill's goons tried to jump me from behind.

Without hesitation, I drew one of the loaded revolvers in the box and shot the goon in the head, causing him to collapse in a bloody pool right before Hill's eyes, much to his horror.

"Still, I won't execute you like an animal in the street..." I said as I looked Hill in the eyes, unfazed by his horrified expression. "The arena, after an hour from now..." I added as I turned around and walked away.

"Be there, or I'll find you and make good on my promise..."