Tender Slap
Noah ignored him and just defeated him the same way. And at the end the audience was just surprised, no one cheered or even shouted angrily.
"That is not a fight. You think this is a circus. This is an arena, a place where men brawl and punch teeth out and then the strongest one won. Kill the boy, he disgraces us!"
An old man sitting among the important people shouted in anger. Definitely, he lost a lot of money in a bet.
"I concur. This isn't a fight. This is humiliation!" Another man said.
"Yeah, that's right!"
Gaggard walked out and stood before Noah with a smile and asked. "Why didn't you fight?"
"How did I win then!" Noah asked in annoyance.
"You see. He fights with his palm, that is his technique!" Gaggard said to the audience. And by the look of it, he did win a lot.
"That was a lie. That isn't a technique!"
"Most he use a technique?" Gaggard asked.
"Yes."
"That isn't the rule. So, My boy here won!" Gaggard pushed Noah toward the huge man and they left the angry mob.
Well, Noah found it beneath him to fight equally against a bunch of kids that were not even squires. So, the most appropriate way was for him to teach them a lesson just for fun by slapping their body around.
But that wasn't invariably good as his palm now stung with pain. He had slapped them too hard beyond what his palm can endure because his palm was softer than normal due to him being almost digested in Sucker Worm.
"He slept for more than 10 minutes and we made a bargain that he would not enter the first White Milk bath after he beat the first 10 opponents!" The huge man said as he snapped his plier and glared at Noah.
"Metal Brain, you are a fool. He fought all of the kids straight and beat all of them without getting hit, and you're still gonna deny him a stupid bath!"
"But boss. He said it himself or I got his tooth!"
Gaggard seemed upset but he sighed and threw a coin at the huge man. "Here is your compensation. You're happy!"
"Yes."
Metal Brain was actually an idiot that had some understanding problems but that also made him useful to take care of the kids since they can't actually bribe him easily because he followed his rule and the rule set by his superiors. More than that, he doesn't have any ambitions.
They reached where Elya was eating food. Noah fetched his own from the counter and Gaggard sat beside him. After they finished he said.
"You all have potential and I'm glad my tiger didn't eat you. I require you to win as many fights as you can. If you do that, I will give you satisfactory food, and you will sleep in White Milk as much as you can and also give you some gifts."
"We will try our best. From the book I read, it said that some kids that trained here have become well-renowned fighters in the world!" Elya said enthusiastically.
"True. That's right. But now from where are you?" Gaggard asked.
Elya looked at Noah before he answered, "Floating Feather!"
"Hmm. Never heard about it. Is it a village or a town?"
"It's a Knighthood situated in Oak Wood Town!" Elya explained.
"Oak Wood. Wait, you are from the City Of Squire? You are far away from home. However, Oak wood only had Moon Wolf and Oak Wood Knighthood the last time I went there!"
Elya looked at Noah before he explained that the knighthood was new and they might be the 7th batch.
"Good. That means I'm not in trouble. Hehe!" Gaggard said full of a smile before he looked at Noah, "You will have to change your strategy. Do something that will make them happy!"
He left after saying that. The two kids in the room just stared at each other. But no one spoke as they lay down and began to sleep.
They have been through too much. From going back and forth on a 10km ladder to falling down 700m+ down in a river. And then surviving inside the Sucker Worm. Then, lastly, becoming a rookie fighter.
Even Noah was exhausted, let alone Elya who had never been through anything like this.
As much as Noah tried to resist falling asleep, he did fall asleep with a snore. It was only in the morning that he understood that they were fed sleeping narcotics in their food.
And it was understandable because they were kids and they might worry about being in a new environment which may hinder them from sleep due to fear.
"Move your legs!" Metal Brain shouted at the kids. They were being ushered to an old lady that inspected every kid before she allowed them to pass for a fight. Kids with hidden injuries were fished out and taken to where they can be healed, the others went and had a good bath.
After that, they went to White Milk. This time Gaggard was around and he allowed Noah to stay for 12 Minutes. When he came out, the boy's face was calmer than before and his eyes were soft and inviting. He looked so innocent that Gaggard entertained the idea of not allowing the kid to fight.
Internally, Noah was happy with the White Milk. It relieves stress, unlike anything he has before. All his nerves, his muscles, his joints, his skin and more was that his mind became so tranquil that he felt serene.
Shifting Steel technique strained the body to its limits and for that came a lot of discomforts. Which builds up over time and caused some problems. Back in the Knighthood, there was a lot of food and medicinal baths that work the same as White Milk but not as well as it.
'We would have been stronger if we had access to these things!' Seth thought.
"Good. Here is your uniform with your name on it back. Today, you are not going to fight but watch some fights and learn from them."
Noah turned to read the name and he found "TENDER SLAP", he frowned and then glared at Elya, he was the one that gave his fake name.