Chapter 4

It was dawn when Chen reached his apartment. He went to the fridge, and he picked up some food with a soft drink. Once he finished eating, he sat down to recover from his fight. There were small burn marks on his body, but they were nothing. Just a night of sleep would be enough to heal them.

Now that he was alone, it was time to check on his stats. He was curious about what changed after he levelled up.

[Stats:

Name: Chen

Age: 20

Level: 5 (0/1000)

Chi: 2100 points

Skills:

- Chi Control level 1 (0/100)

- Flame Generation level 8 (0/3000)

Specialities:

- Firebending level 7 (0/2000) - Semi-Virtuoso

Accumulated experience: 3000

]

It seems that levelling up had increased his Chi. It meant that he can burn more Chi to create fire. He can create a strong flame and sustain it for the longest time.

There was also accumulated experience. It couldn't be used to level up his character. But it can be used to level up his skills. He would think about how to use it later.

As for his Firebending and Flame Generation, both levelled up.

Opening his hand in, Chen summoned the flames. A bright fire lit above his hand. It was a light purple fire. The yellow glint was no longer there. The fire was hotter than the one he used in his match. It was more than twice hotter than the usual flame. However, it seems to use more of his energy. Putting less Chi there, the fire turned to yellow with a strong purple shade. Although it was a hard feat, all he had to do is to control the quality of the Chi and quantity. Visualising the process played a huge role to achieve that.

[Chi control +20 exp]

Chi Control seemed to be a foundation skill. But he didn't know what it can do when reaching a high level. At any rate, he would see what's special about it later.

Now it was time to use his accumulated experience.

He thought of levelling up his bending since it was a critical speciality. There is no point in having a high-quality fire when you can't use it well.

After putting 2000 accumulated experience points on Firebending, he heard the notification.

[Firebending up to level 8 - Virtuoso - (0/3000)]

[+Associated skills…]

His brain and mind subconsciously adapted to the new level as if he were trained to reach it.

Seeing that he was left with a thousand accumulated experience points, he thought of where to use them. He realised that he lacks something. The variety of skills. How to solve that? Thinking of an answer, it seems that learning new skills was the solution. He can go to the Firebending school or ask some mob to teach him a skill, such as lightningbending. Or he can go to energy stations where skilled firebenders were using their lightning bending to provide the city with electricity. It pays very well. And they teach this skill commonly, provided that you work for a free day.

Shaking his head at the thoughts, he decided to see that tomorrow. For now, he would sleep.

-x-X-x-

The morning arrived. It was still Monday though. He put his hands in his pocket and walked into republic city. While looking left and right, he saw three gangsters blackmailing merchants to pay protection fees. Just like everyone else watching, he didn't care. It was non of his business, and he wasn't a hero.

He had set in his mind two goals. First, go to the energy station and learn about lightning bending. Second, he decided to go to the arena and participate in pro-bending matches. That way, he can make money from two sides, and he gets experience.

When arriving at the energy station, Chen put his hand in front of his face. This place was hot. Luckily for him, he was a firebender. He could handle it.

Rumbling sounds echoed. Blue flashes of lighting could be seen through the windows up there. This was the place that provides the city with energy.

When he entered, he found a woman sitting at the reception desk. He approached her and said.

"Good morning."

"How can I help you?" she asked as he raised her eyes.

"I'm looking for a job," Chen said.

"Do you have any degree in business management? Or are you a firebender?"

"I'm a firebender," Chen said.

She examined him for some time. She then said.

"I've never seen you here before. Can you bend lightning?"

Shaking his head, he said. "No."

She exhaled a sigh. "We can teach you for 10000 Yuan, or for working for a free day."

"I'll take the latter." He resisted his urge to smile. Working for a free day isn't free to him. He would get free training.

"Don't raise your hopes, it will get you days and many sessions to learn it. And for each session, we'll charge you extra hours" She sighed when she saw that he was excited. "Also, it's a very exhausting job. It requires heat resistance, and injuries can occur at any moment. Are you aware of that?"

"Yes."

"Okay, wait for a second, I'll call the staff chief." She pressed a button on her desk.

After five minutes, one of the doors behind her opened. There was a large man, beyond 2 meters tall, standing. He was wearing a grey set of protective clothes.

"Yun, why did you call me?" said the large man.

"Sai. We have a young firebender who wants to learn how to work. He doesn't know how to release lightning, so he gets free lessons for free two days." Yun said.

"Too bad he doesn't have money. It's okay then." Sai walked to Chen. Sai rubbed his own chin when he stared at Chen. He then said. "You look tough. How's your level in firebending."

Chen opened his hand, generating a normal flame above his hand. He then made it circle in the air, before turning it off. "I'm good at bending."

"Not half bad. You have enough mastery over the basics. Oh, very well. When would you like to start your lesson."

"When are you free?" Chen asked. The chief may be a busy man. It was proper to ask him when he can teach him. The sooner, the better.

"Now. But would that be okay with you?" Sai asked.

"More than okay." Chen nodded.

Sai smiled. "What's your name by the way?"

"I'm Chen."

"Nice to meet you, Chen. I'm Sai, and I'm going to be your mentor. Walk with me."

"Alright."

"Wait, he has to sign a contract," Yun said. She placed a paper in front of Chen, which obligated him to work for a free day when he would learn lightning bending from them. Otherwise, they can sue him for a larger amount of money. Chen signed it.

Sai put his hands behind his back, and Chen followed him. Sai opened a door that leads to the floor below.

"It will take you a long time to learn how to bend lightning. The most important thing is how to control your Chi's flow. After that, you are good to work."

"Alright."

Upon hearing that the most important thing is how to control his Chi flow, Chen opened his system and put the accumulated points on Chi control.

[Chi control up to level 5]

(Can circle Chi to increase the physical strength now)

(Chi consumption got less)

(Chi's quality has increased)

(Bending speed increased)

Does it seem that what happens when he increases his Chi control? When that skill levelled up, Chen could feel his energy control got better. He could move it through his body with a thought. He realised now his mistake leaving such a good skill, which can make him stronger with each level.

Sai took him to a large empty room. The room seemed to be covered in rubber.

"Alright, for the first lesson, you are going to learn how to separate the negative energy from your fire Chi. As long as you have a calm mind, you are going to master it with ease."

Sai smiled when he stood up and said. "Chi, like light and dark, good and evil, has negative and positive attributes. People in old times called it Yin and Yang energies. Amway, you move like this, separate both energies, and release one of them. Creating the imbalance will turn into lightning. You don't control it, you release it. Here is a demonstration."

The man pointed his index and middle finger from each hand. He started moving them. "This is the basic movement." His movement seemed to draw the Yin Yang symbol with his hands.

Visualising the Yin Yang patterns helped Chen to understand how separating energies worked.

[Do you want to learn Lightningbending (y/n)]

Hell to the Yes.

[+Speciality learned: Lightningbending]

[+Associated skill: lightning release]

Sparks of lightning danced on Sai's finger. He pointed at the wall. A rumbling sound was heard. The lighting flew and hit the wall, which was covered in rubber.

"You get it." Sai turned and smiled. "Even for a talented firebender like you, it will take a long time to master it. However, in our jobs, you only need to learn how to release it."

Chen seemed to realise one thing.

Why Ozai and Azula's lighting was enough to kill, while Mako's lightning was only enough to knock out a man.

The former trained their lightning bending to a high level to kill.

The latter learnt lightning bending to work in a job. It's said that only a few selected people can bend lightning correctly and aim it well. But here, it's quite common.

"Yes, I do get it," Chen said.

Sai chuckled. "That's what they sat. It's okay if you don't learn it immediately. It's very rare to see someone wanting to learn bending to work and power up the city. Remember, control your Chi."

"Right." Chen nodded. He repeated the movements from Sai. A small spark of lightning appeared in his hand. When he aimed, a thin line of lightning flew and hit the rubber.

"Wow! You got it from the first try." Sai clapped his hands. "Still, it's weak lightning. The energy you released is very near to balance. The less balance between Yin and Yang, the stronger your lightning shall be. If you can imbalance it and purify it, your lighting would be stronger. But until now, no one reached that level. Well, not on one. I've heard that one princess in the past had almost killed the Avatar. But that was a prodigy."

"Seeing how you got it on your first try, It won't take a long time before you release large bolts. Each bolt would be enough to power up a few houses"

Chen seemed to learn something from Sai's words.

[Lightningbending +200 exp]

[Lightningbending up to level 2 (100/200)]

[Associated skills upgraded]

Just hearing the explanation was enough for him to gain experience in his system.

Maybe hearing and reading scrolls will give him experience.

Chen felt good that he learned how his system is working.

"Can you explain more to me?" Chen said to Sai, who happily nodded.

"Sure." He said. "Although I'll waste enough useful energy, I'm sure the city will gain more if you learned."

Sai seemed to know that he isn't wasting his energy. After all, Chen will give more for free.

As he started explaining more, Chen was gaining experience.

[Lightningbending +200 exp] [Lightningbending +150 exp] [Lightningbending +100 exp]…

It didn't take a long time before he heard the notification.

[Lighting bending up to level 5 (200/500)]

He gained a couple of skills.

[+ Associated Skills:

-Lightning curve:

Lightning circle: creates a circle with lightning around you. ]

In this world, Firebenders could only reach a certain level. They couldn't develop it further. Luckily, Chen has a system.

Chen turned to the Sai, and he said. "I'll start working now."

"Hehe… you are too excited. At least, make an impacting lighting bolt."

Chen aimed at the left. Because of the level up, he didn't have to do the basic movement. Lightning charged at the tip of his finger, and it hit the rubber. This time, the bolt was larger, and it emitted a brighter light.

Sai looked at Chen with wide-open eyes. "You are a genius, or am I a good teacher?"

This world didn't lack geniuses. It's known that genes played a major role when it comes to bending. It played a bigger role than the spirits of nature.

Some people can bend blood without the full moon. Some people can bend with their minds.

These cases are very rare, and people would think Chen is one of the rare cases.

"No. You are just a good teacher."

"Hahaha! I like you."

"Sure," Chen asked. "By the way, how much do you pay guys."

"Between 5000 Yuan to 10000 for a session. It depends on your productivity."

"You pay that much!" Chen nodded.

"Don't be shocked. Although lightning bending is common, not everyone can do it. And not everyone is willing to do it. Plus, our job is important to the city. We are selling energy to factories and the council. We surely need to pay our workers high."