Once and future King (2)

"He's broken through so soon?" Dane had a bitter smile as he watched Bamboo. How fortunate can one be? Even though he too was rooting for Bamboo, he didn't expect the lavel to break through so soon after a recent breakthrough. It had been barely a month and he was already at Veteran rank.

Thinking about it further, he realized that it did make sense. Due to his direct interference, Bamboo's mind was now sharper that most if not all in the planet, save for him of course. This was because of his massive cognitive boost he had given him. Secondly, the lavel had had to use his skills more often than most and in more life threatening conditions. As such, he had gained a deep understanding of the element he was using.

Remember, Krea's breakthrough had been as a result of years of working with the water element. Due to her affinity as a priestess of the water element, she had an obvious advantage in her breakthrough.

But with Bamboo, it was born of hard work and pain, and a lot of intelligence. Bamboo's loss to Krea had hit him hard. For the longest time, even he had become complacent in his fights. A continuous string of victories were bound to get into someone's mind.

Even as these thoughts flowed in his mind, Bamboo knew in his heart of hearts that her victory was deserved. At some point, he had given his all, that strike which she had somehow managed to reciprocate and actually use it to stun him was prove of that, and so he sort to understand the meaning of this.

The following morning, as soon as the training began, he had sort out Maple for a private training exercise. Pleasantly surprised by his request, she had readily agreed and Bamboo had led her to a nearby stream, while carrying buckets.

In the fights, he had come to more or less understand that elemental properties were what gave an opponent an advantage. He felt lucky to bring down Hasilo, even though he had tested and seen that rock does not conduct electricity. Remember this was pure rock, as he was meant to be.

Well, he didn't really understand it in these terms, as he didn't know what conducting electricity was all about. What he did know was that there were certain elements that could allow his element to break through easily, and those that didn't. In most cases, even with Hasilo, he could use brute force.

Testing the water element, he found that it was an excellent conductor, and this only served to confound him all the more. If this element was easy to penetrate, then how come none of his attacks had landed? That's when he stumbled on the answer. The nifty little trick, he even let out a grin, which scared Maple.

Krea had redirected his attacks. So simple yet so effective. Instead of the water allowing the thunder element through, it had guided it to the ground, essentially nullifying it. His admiration to this lavel grew at the thought. Now that he had her trick, time to come up with an answer.

It was a short 10 mile hike for the 2 lavels to get to a nearby waterfall. Bamboo got a long pole which he attached a plank of wood at one end and attacked it to a cavern under the falls. He too was behind the falls in the cavern. His goal was to somehow bypass the wall of water created by the waterfall, which was the closest thing to what Krea had conjured.

At first, he had tried to use his most dazzling instant strike moves, but no matter how had he tried, he couldn't do it. After his 20th try, he was utterly frustrated! Falling to the ground, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

He remembered that dreaded fight where he had had to fight with his doppelgangers who also wielded his ability. At the height of frustration, the words spoken by Kendar, his master now, had been enough to not only restore him, but also grant him victory. To those words he turned again.

"Take a deep breath. Relax. Extend your senses, feel the elementary particles around you. Don't just order them around, understand them. Make a bond with them, let them expose to you their secrets."

As these words echoed in his mind, a smug Dane had watched on. At the rate Bamboo was growing, Dane would soon find it difficult to read his mind. For now though, he was an open book. With admiration, Dane watched as his student did as he was told.

Bamboo's skill had always been about channeling internal energy to create charged ions, or thunder elementary particles. As such, he recognized that certain areas could also create these charged ions, and as he inspected the area around the waterfall, he realized that this was a treasure trove.

As a novice, one's control over the elementary particles was limited. For Bamboo, he could only the elementary particles that he had created by his own energy. Hence, he was limited to whatever energy he had in his reserves. That hadn't been a problem so far, as he was a step above most at Grade F+, but now, he had found a match.

When Maple saw Bamboo fall, she instinctively rushed to where he was and help him up. She'd been at the back of the cavern as per Bamboo's instructions, and this was only after he had relented and allowed her to watch. This was not him being mean, but he was afraid that he might hurt her in some way. The thunder element had a way of wandering. Since Maple realized this, she had grudgingly agreed, while inwardly celebrating.

However, seeing him go down, how could she not rush to him? Only, she was stopped in her tracks, as in an instant, in his fallen state, Bamboo had launched a sudden strike that instantly ignited the plank of wood!

To get to veteran rank, one had to interact with the elementary particles all around him, removing the limitations. For Krea, her limitation over control over water had been her inability the elementary particles quickly. The rain would have been useless and she had to use a bucket to gather the element. After her breakthrough, she could gather the elements quickly and use them as she saw fit. She still couldn't conjure up water, and she wondered if she ever would.

For Bamboo, it was his ability to interact with other elements. Even now he had used a cheat, but in doing so, he had acquired a deeper understanding of his element.

As he closed his eyes. He had felt the charged ions generated by the falling water, then channeled his energy at them. Using the water current, he had transmitted his energy across the barrier and activated the other charged ions on the other side. Using these mild interactions, he had been able to guide his power to the target, instantly igniting it. All that in one breath.

In the arena, it had even been more awesome. With all those dust particles, water particles and attacks, it was a haven for charged ions. It was at this point that Bamboo had expected his power, not in command, as a guide. Instantly, all the elementary particles had fallen in line, following his guidance.

Taking a cue from his fight with Krea, he had created Thunder Armor around each of his allies. This was simply by commanding the elementary particles to swirl around his allies, not at them. Another idea he had gotten from Krea. Using this, he deflected the incoming ice arrows, but he wasn't done with them yet.

Channeling all the remaining elementary particles, Bamboo had launched an offense like never before. Though he was now still at Grade F+, his energy output was considerably more, enough to rival and even dwarf Krea's.

Each of the opponents on the field, save from Krea, had fallen to his thunder strikes, and now he wanted them to have a taste of it while it was dialed up. Poor Krea, her inexperience in battle had led her to not put up any defense as she had gone all out on her attack. Not that it would have mattered, as Bamboo was ready for it.

With a smug smile which no one saw, Bamboo had reminded his opponents and everyone watching exactly who they were dealing with. They were 10 years to early to think they can contend with him and come out on top!

When the dust settled, the crowd, which had been silent all along, curious about what happened, erupted in mad cheering. The jades, the team that was about to lose, were the only ones left standing. At the helm was Bamboo.

No one was more surprised that his teammates. They had been expecting to fall to the attack that had seemed so severe, yet to be so easily dealt with. Maple had attempted to teleport, but her limitation was range. She couldn't move far enough fast enough.

Bottom line, this was the end of the line. Full stop, the end, game over. Yet at that moment a savior had risen, a hero had done the impossible. At speeds they couldn't even comprehend, he had not only fended off the attacks but he had overturned and countered with a very frightful attack, and many even shuddered. They looked at him with eyes full of worship, as many in the entire settlement.

"Bamboo! Bamboo! Bamboo!"

No one knew who started it, but the chant instantly caught on in the shouts and peals of joy. The spectators had been thoroughly entertained, and now they paid homage to the lavel responsible!

Bamboo felt like he was in dreamland. He watched as each of the lavels in from the settlement, especially from his clan, go down from their trees and bend low, a sign of deep respect.

He turned to look at his teammates, even the ones that were no participating in the match had joined them. They were all bending towards him. Looking around, he saw that even the opponents he'd faced, Krea topmost in the list, also bowing to him.

Arlos had intended to share this moment, somehow remain relevant in leadership, but after seeing Bamboo's power, he really just wanted to hand over the staff of leadership, bow and get as far as he could. Seeing that, everyone understood that Bamboo was now the new head.

This was unprecedented in this settlement. The ruling clans had always been in charge, that was how things were. Yet now, an outsider had taken charge, and done so in such a flashy way that none could dare content.

However, this competition had ushered in something else entirely. It was an annunciation to the world, the lavels had began to awaken their abilities.

For Bamboo, he watched all this as though he was looking through someone else's eyes. He had worked hard for it, he had bled and suffered severe attacks, all in the name of a competition. One thing he hadn't considered all this time was the victory. It was always a faraway idea. Someone used to being average never really thought about being on top, but now that he was ...

As it began to sink in, he relieved that moment. That moment when every lavel in the settlement had bowed before him. That moment when every individual was shouting his name. That moment when even his opponents turned to be his subordinates.

A feeling he had never felt before began to bubble in his heart. Watching as people look at you with reverence brought about the first taste of real power in Bamboo's life. All through the lavel had been mostly unmotivated in life.

He had lived doing just the bare minimum, never reaching for anything really, so he naturally never knew what lay at the victor's table. Now having a taste of it, it was intoxicating. Now he had found a reason to strive, yearn and reach for power, cause it was damn sweet! What neither Bamboo nor Dane knew was that the moment Bamboo decided to indulge in this feeling, was the beginning of his downfall.