What The-?!

Ryujin stood before his enemies; his small stature bellying his immense physical strength, agility, and uncanny reflexes.

His black hair danced about in the wind rushing through the roof and the walls of Luo Fei's dilapidated apartment.

His metavision relayed a perfect representation of a 3D, 360 degree view of his surroundings, allowing him to survey the opposing group with a mix of apprehension and resolve.

These men were mercenaries, which meant that they were master's who wielded a lethal combination of strong martial skills and weak magic abilities.

Their leader, Aric; smaller in build only to Lugard, bore a three striped scar across his face, a testament to a life and death experience with a Savage Beast.

"Eron, Kael, Torin, this kid isn't going to be an easy foe. Be careful, and attack together." Aric warned seriously.

The trio simultaneously nodded in acknowledgement before bolting towards Ryujin with their auras flaring wildly, and in that moment Ryujin knew he had gravely miscalculated.

Ryujin watched in shock as the Qi Glow around the rampaging trio took a surprising change, turning from all-white, into Fiery Red, Earthen Brown and Watery Blue.

"What the-?!"

His rippling shock had barely sunk deep when a ball of flame, pillar of water, and a rock boulder materialized out of the thin air, arriving before he could even optimize his thoughts.

Boom!

A deafening explosion rocked the entire area surrounding Luo Fei's house, causing the weak braces of its structure which had been barely hanging on, to finally lose strength and collapse.

Ryujin's body was catapulted out into the snow, bouncing across the ground like a pebble across a river surface.

He tumbled repeatedly, before being forced to a halt by the trunk of a snowcapped tree, which furtherly showered him with it's content.

Bash!

Like a fierce dog with an unrelenting resolve, Ryujin burst out of the snow heap, his appearance totally haggard, swaying slightly before finding his feet.

"Damn it! To think that their magic was just as strong!" Ryujin lamented beneath his breath.

However, before he could even think further, the visage of a blur suddenly flew into the range of his mentavision.

The object moved so fast, that it arrived at the back of Ryujin's head in less than a second.

The hairs behind Ryujin's neck to stood on end, warning him of the tiny time that separated him from death.

This, without turning around Ryujin quickly tumbled himself into a swift summersault.

Swoosh!

The object flew past Ryujin like a fighter jet before colliding with a tree.

Boom!

A literal third of the tree's massive trunk was obliterated into splinters that shot in every direction.

'What the fuck was that?!' Ryujin body grew cold with fright, his wits barely affording him the liberty to even think.

He narrowed his metavision and extended its range backwards, and found the source of his near-death experience.

Standing there with a sneering grin was Lugard, his bloodied mouth a testament to the damage Ryujin had dealt him a short while ago.

He walked over to a tree and ripped it's branch out with his insane physical strength, and then to Ryujin's utter disbelief, he crushed the branch with his palm, transforming it into a roughly jagged javelin.

'What an abnormal physical prowess!" Ryujin exclaimed mentally.

However, the others seemed to notice Ryujin's lack of overall awareness, and thus, barraged with another bout of fireballs, water pillars and rock boulders.

Seeing the rain if death falling towards him, Ryujin quickly used his Chaotic Shadow Steps technique, vanishing from the spot, and reappearing a few meters from the point of impact.

Then without waiting for his enemies to react, he made a swift dash for the Skeleton Forest.

"Who gave you the permission to flee?" A voice floated over from behind.

By the time Ryujin looked over, a shadow had flown over him and landed right in his path.

'He's fast!' Ryujin remarked in shock.

The moment Aric landed, he instantly threw forth a punch that seemed to carry the momentum of a speeding truck towards Ryujin 

 'Too heavy to handle!' Ryujin thought to himself before opting for a countermeasure.

~Scrussh~

He slipped himself into a backward fall, before borrowing the momentum of his speed to skid his way past Aric's arm, barely missing the latter's elbow by a hair's breadth.

Then with a light tap of that arm, he palmed the ground and used the impact force to regan his bearings and return to his feet.

~Phwee!~

Ryujin had barely returned to his feet when his ears caught onto the screeching sound of a speeding object homing in on him.

Without even deigning a backward glance, his mentavision revealed another jagged wooden javelin shooting for the back of his skull.

Tap! Tap! ~Swoosh~

Boom!

A fountain of snow exploded into the air before raining down back onto the earth.

"What the-?!" Lugard exclaimed in a mixture of anger and shock 

His target had suddenly moved in a manner that was so irregular that it nearly blinded his senses.

Ryujin however, didn't let their brief moment inattentiveness go to waste; and thus, he instantly used the shadow aspect of the technique.

His figure blurred amidst the falling snow, fleeing through the falling whipping wind, even as his snow white overcoat camouflaging him from his enemies' vision.

Initiating his Cloak ability, Ryujin masked his presence before leaving the chaos behind and bursting through the outer borders of the skeleton forest.

"After him!"

Aric reacted a moment later, his bellow, restoring his gang's concentration, as they chased after Ryujin like he had stolen their kidneys.

'Fighting them in an open space is a huge disadvantage for me...'

Ryujin thought to himself mid-flight, glancing back to see the group of five homing in on him at a blinding speed.

'...thankfully, my acting had forced them to show some of their cards, and the Origin Codex have been able to compile me a brief overview of their prowess.

Based on the info provided by the Origin Codex so far, these are the current prowess of their group.'

---

= Aric -> Neo Tendon Condensing Stage - ??? - [Shocking Fists...]

= Lugard -> Arc Bone Forging Stage - Metal Affinity - ???

= Eron -> Apex Bone Forging Stage - Flame Affinity - [Fireball...]

= Kael -> Prime Bone Forging Stage - Earth Affinity - [Boulder...]

= Torin -> Demi Bone Forging Stage -Water Affinity - [Geyser...]

>>> Grades = Neo -> Demi -> Prime -> Apex -> Arc...

---

Elemental Arts

= Fireball -> A sphere of condensed flame; capable of searing an enemy's skin and boiling their blood.

= Geyser -> A condensed pillar of water; capable of immobilizing an enemy and drowning them.

= Boulder -> A sphere of condensed earth; capable of shattering an enemy's bones and leaving them winded or stunned.

Martial Techniques

= Shocking Fists -> A fist technique that aims to induce an enemy's body into shock, by overloading the enemy's body with foreign Qi that overly pressurizes their vessels and nerves into redundancy.

---

'However, whilst the codex is still gradually updating these info based on what the mystic transformation pupils captures and transmits to it, it has yet to give any information about Aric's elemental affinity.

But what about myself...'

Ryujin thought, as he reviewed the brief details of his own combat prowess.

= Ryujin -> ??? - ??? - [Arrow Barrage], [Chaotic Shadow Steps], [Cloak], [Metavision], [Overlapping Fists], [Willow Leaf Palm], and then strangely [Shocking Fist].

'Just this much huh... Well I guess that's to be expected since I've yet to even undergo my trials of awakening.'

'Oh? Even Aric's fist technique has been recorded?' His eyes widened, surprised by the gift his two treasures had just bestowed him.

---

Soon enough, Ryujin arrived at a part of the skeleton forest, ad after a brief hesitation, dashed towards a different direction.

Three seconds later, his pursuers arrived, Aric bolting right after him, followed by Lugard, Eron, Kael and Torin.

"Tch! He's not stopping, Aric!" Eron complained from the middle of the group.

"Yeah. For some reasons he seems intent on luring us into the forest." Torin added from the back.

"Hmph! He simply wants to use any commotion we create to attract a few Savage Beasts towards us, and then find a opening to flee?" Lugard chipped in in disdain.

Aric in the other hand was so deep within his own thoughts, that he was barely registering his comrades' complaints.

He fixed his gas on the fleeing Ryujin, trying to make sense of the strange punching movements the latter was displaying, even whilst fleeing.

'For someone as intelligent as him, this decision of his feels somewhat strange...

The distance between that female hunter's house and this skeleton forest is more than twice the distance between the her house and his home...

So, why choose the forest, instead of returning home and having his father or uncle save him?'

In that moment, Aric's eyes suddenly brightened as a bulb of idea lit up in his mind.

'Could it be-?!' He thought to himself before raising his fist, signalling his comrades to halt their advance.

The whole gang suddenly skidded to a tactical stop, their actions however, not escaping Ryujin's mentavision.

After all, he had been intentionally keeping them within the range of his metavision all along.

'Crap! It seems like they figured me out!' Ryujin chuckled in defeat before skidding to a halt himself.

~Woosh!~

A brief wind whipped amidst the silence of the snow drenched forest area; a sudden standoff ensuing between both sides.

One one side stood a group of five; all clad in leather armors and white furry overcoats, and on the other side, the solitary figure of a five year old; clad in a hooded ninja-style outfit and a snow white furry overcoat.

'It seems my deduction was right on the money.' Aric smirked, impressed by Ryujin's actions.

"Hey kid, your father and uncle are away from home right?" He said.

"I must admit, the thought of luring us as far away from your family as possible is truly ingenious." He added, a soft wind carrying his words straight into Ryujin's ears.

"So there was indeed a smart one amongst you... You're right; however it doesn't matter anymore...

My father and uncle should have returned before you lot arrive at my house." Ryujin said, heaving a relived sigh.

'This kid is not ordinary.

To think he had not only been keeping his nerves, but also assessing the risks and dangers of we pose to his family, despite our relentless assaults all this while...

I have to admit, even I, Aric am barely capable of such a feat."

"It's a pity that we have to nip you in the bud, otherwise, you would have been a powerful addition to our team.

If nurtured carefully and given ample space and time to grow, you might as well even reach my level in no time." Aric commended, shaking his head as he let out a helpless sigh.

"It really doesn't matter. Once we're done with him, we can wait until his father and uncle leaves to search for him before returning to his house to slaughter the rest of his family." Torin said in a sadistic tone.

"Even better, we can play with his mother and toy with his sister while at it. ~Hehe Hehe~" Kael chipped in with a perverted grin.

"Hmph! I might even decide to torture, but keep him alive until then, and let him watch everything unfold before his eyes!" Lugard taunted, infuriated for some reason.

Hearing this, Ryujin didn't curse them or get angry; instead, he turned towards Aric and asked with a smile.

"What about you, Aric. Is there anything you'd like to do to me or my family as well?"

Seeing that smile, Aric's mind couldn't help but tremble slighthly; he knew exactly what kind of smile Ryujin's was.

It was a smile one only saw in a murderer who was giving it's victims their chance to say their final words.

However, there were five of them, and they had experienced several life-threatening battles and bathed in the blood of their enemies.

Thus, he calmed himself and replied.

"I don't have any such fetishes or kinks; I'm all about keeping them safe and affording them the liberty to do as they wish, all whilst ensuring they live a comfortable life." Aric answered.

"Good. Since you have all confirmed yourselves to be mindless monsters, then my conscience is clear."

Then, Ryujin unleashed several techniques simultaneously.