Accident

How did his breathing suddenly disappear? I felt it clearly until the moment the bell tolled.

I also lost track of some of the students. Alright then, they might have disappeared but I am confident in being faster than them.

As long as I reach the mountain passage before then I can use a small trick to make this way easier. There weren't that many rules after all.

I tensed my leg muscles and started to run. The problem was this forest environment, thick vegetation isn't the most appropriate place to run. And I am not like those guys, they lived here for decades, they know this place as if it was back of their hand. So I will have to improvise.

I climbed a tree with a single jump. (Hamon+Enhanced body)

From its canopy, I could see the end goal a few Km away. I watched it for a few seconds before stopping. I kicked the tree trunk while making my way to the next tree.

Yes, I will jump from tree to tree just like a ninja. I had practiced this movement before several times in Tibet, but I never tried it like this.

It consumed a severe amount of stamina, but thankfully I wouldn't have to do this for long.

Within 10 minutes I was in the passage, and since I don't see any tracks, they must still be in the forest.

I quickly prepared the "trap" before they arrived, while recovering my stamina. 15 min later the first group came.

It was a tall man with 3 other people behind him. The tall man had a purple flag while the 3 others had a green flag.

He didn't tell me anything about the flags having different colors… I thought while watching them from a hiding spot.

-Wait. Said the tall man in Mandarin

-What is it, Horned bull? Said one of his companions

-There is something strange about this place. Said Bull

The others looked around but didn't notice anything

-I think you are a bit too paranoid. Are you afraid of that little kid from Tibet? He is just a child, this test is more of a training session than anything else right? Otherwise, how is it supposed for a child to collect all of our flags till sunset? There isn't anything here Said a man with a flag that said: Turtle.

-... Can you smell it?

-... Sniff Sniff… COUGH! Only thick dust… Said Frog

-This smell… It's a smell similar to honey, it's very faint but it's here.

-There might be a bee nest somewhere, but that shouldn't be anything special right? Said Turtle

-... I hope you are right.

But nothing happened. They walked through the passage without a problem.

A few minutes later Bull turned around and looked towards the mountain pass.

-Are you still thinking about the bees? If you really want some honey we can get some later. Said Turtle

-... He is right… Said Owl in a few words. The only girl of the group.

-...

Bull turned around and left with his team.

An hour later, our protagonist looked to what seemed to be the last group to traverse this passage.

If I didn't miss anyone, they should be the final group… Time to catch up!

He picked a few wooden sticks up and charged them with Hamon. Where did these sticks come from? He carved them from some wood nearby.

This group was probably the weakest he had seen so far. During the time he stayed hidden, only two groups felt something was wrong with the passage. The others just passed without a care in the world.

The time a group passes through here corresponds to their strength. The stronger ones passed earlier, while the weakest ones came later.

The only person I didn't see was the master.

The time was just right, 4 sticks for 4 people, the moment one of them decided to stop, distracting the otters, I threw my sticks at their flags. Pining all of them into the mountain wall.

They looked confused, but they were soon hit in the head with some stones and fainted.

-This was quite easy, they didn't even react. If all of them are like this then I only need an hour to finish this.

Now it was time to track the rest. Just like the first two groups noticed, there was a strange smell in this passage. That was my plan. I pretty much marked all of them with this smell, alloying me to track them for long distances.

The area where this game will happen is in a valley inside of the mountain. There are about 7 groups of 4, and considering the time, I had around 5 hours till nightfall to capture 24 flags or defeat the old fart.

I dragged the bodies of the 4 disciples to the rocky wall and started to follow the scent of one of the groups.

/SWUSH!/

I quickly turned around but there was nothing there. Only the four "sleeping" dudes.

-The wind?...

No fucking way.

Looks like I have to pay some more attention…

… 3 hours later. 2 hours till the end of the game.

I had successfully captured the flags of all of the groups except one. The very first group to have passed through my trap. Their smell was the faintest since they bathed in the river water. They were either too careful or too carefree.

Tracking them has been a pain in the ass. I don't know much about this forest, while they know a lot about this place. I am approaching them slowly though, and I should be able to meet them soon.

The only strange thing that I noticed was the strange sound that happened every time I knocked someone out. A strange "swoosh" sound. As if the wind was cut by a sword. I tried to find the origin of this sound but failed miserably. It always disappears before I have the chance to see what it is. I once tried knocking someone out near a water source, but even looking through the water reflection when it happened didn't help in the slightest.

I am on the verge of killing someone.

… The last group was hiding in a cave located high above the ground. They must be trying to gain territorial advantage.

I climbed as close as possible. I might have a better body but that doesn't mean I can just underestimate my enemy. I soon heard an argument between two people

-... is hot! Can we leave this cave already?

-We need to…

-I TOLD YOU ALREADY IT'S JUST A CHILD! He's what? 10 or 11 years old?! What can he do? What were we doing at his age? Playing with dolls? He might be talented but he can at most defeat some of those weaker disciples. I would be impressed if he even had "KI"! (The Chinese name for Hamon.)

-We shouldn't underestimate our…

-I GET IT! I need some air… He then proceeded to leave the cave

I heard all of their conversations, including seeing the young man jumping out of the cave, he didn't even look back. This couldn't be easier for me.

5 min later I saw the same young man mumbling something on the shore of the river.

He grabbed a rock and threw it/

-...I will show them… A kid… If I defeat him will they stop bothering me? But this wouldn't be alright… It's just a…

I couldn't hear him very well from my distance due to the sound of the water current.

But well… Thank you for being alone, this will be the easiest "kill" so far.

I picked a smooth river rock and prepared to throw it, not on the guy, he might be arrogant but he is still a strong disciple. I threw it inside the water. The river current will do the rest for me.

The rock was slowly carried by the current, getting dangerously close to the disciple.

Even if he was attentive, why would he care for a rock?

He once again prepared to throw his rock, but the moment it hit the water surface, golden lighting was released, and a rock suddenly leaped from the water hitting him right on the face.

/CRUNCH!/ The boy fell on the ground, bleeding, with a large rock stuck on his forehead.

-...What?

I didn't expect this to happen. I used a very basic trap, I didn't expect this disciple to die just like this… I might lose their hospitality, even worse, they might try to kill me.

I ran to him only to see if I could remedy the situation… He still has breathing, it seems he used his Hamon at the very end to block the rock. Few…

During this momentary lapse of attention, I failed to notice the girl watching from the bushes.

-MUR-MURDER! He killed…

I was surprised at first but I quickly threw another rock in her direction. I could see the flag on her arm, so I didn't restrain my Hamon usage.

The girl was hit in the forehead just like the previous one and fainted. She had blood on her face, but it was much less noticeable than the other guy.

The problem was her scream… The last two should have heard it… I need to settle things here sooner…

Before I even had the time to patch the guy up, a fist came crashing down on my forehead.

[RISING PALM!] Said the man called Bull.

(Chinese names for their Hamon techniques will be different from the Series, which are mostly based on the Tibetan arts.)

I easily evaded his palm attack since he screamed its name.

-... Turtle was wrong. You aren't just a child… You are a monster. Killing others in a training scenario isn't uncommon, but you could've tried not to right? Much less hitting Owl so ruthlessly. I saw it, how you threw the rock without a care. I don't care who you are but I will get revenge for Turtle. You are a menace to our society…

What the fuck was that? Is he fucking with me? Instead of checking to see if his friend is alright he instead came with all of that?

-... I will kill you.

-_-

To be continued... Okey that enough.