Instinctively, I raised my hand to shield myself.
"Now what? Shit! I'm dead," my mind started to freak out.
But then,
The arrow froze midair.
[Threat Detected]
Target: Incoming Arrow
A strange glow appeared in my eye. It highlighted the arrow with a red box, locking onto it like a system scan.
Below, two options appeared,
[Block]
[Counter]
Nothing comes to mind, I couldn't even breathe.
Nervously without thinking, I chose [Block].
My palm... it started to feel cold. Not freezing, but like a chilling wind was spinning in my hand.
"wheeeeh...sssshhh…"
A strange pressure built up in my palm, then, in an instant, it released.
The wind caused the arrow to move in a different direction.
The same crowd that was just yelling 'kill the slave!' like bloodthirsty fans at a gladiator match. Now they were like,
"Wait…what just happened?!"
"Did the arrow change direction in mid-air?"
I slowly stood up, thinking,
(It was like a dream, something more than a human just appeared out of nowhere. Who was he? He had the elements in his hands... Was he the god of it? Now I feel like I can see some kind of system. What's happening to me?)
But to my surprise, the hunter looked at Elder Chen.
Elder Chen didn't say a word. He simply nodded at the hunter, and the hunter bowed in return. It felt like a signal of some kind of secret message to the hunter.
The hunter picked up another arrow, aimed again… and fired.
"Not again…" I muttered.
Then it happened again,
[Threat Detected]
Target: Incoming Arrow
The arrow was locked in my vision with a red box, like a system screen.
Two options appeared below:
[Block]
[Counter]
This time, I chose [Counter].
Suddenly, more options appeared,
Choose Your Element:
[Fire] [Water] [Earth] [Wind] [Lightning] [Darkness]
A countdown started: 10... 9... 8...
I quickly picked [Wind] again.
Uncertain about how the other elements will react.
Again I started to feel strange like the wind was spinning in my palm.
I pointed my hand at the arrow.
An invisible energy flew from my palm straight at the arrow.
The arrow suddenly turned around and flew back toward the hunter.
His eyes went wide. He rolled to the side and dodged it.
But the arrow turned again and chased after him.
This time, fire rose from the hunter's hand.
He threw a fireball at the arrow. It burned halfway, but didn't stop. As it got close, he grabbed it, trying to burn it completely, the arrow finally turned to ash.
At that moment, I had no idea what was going on. "Now he can raise fire from his hand?"
But one thing was clear, the world I was living in was definitely not normal.
Then I heard people shouting, "He's from the Wind Region! Kill him!"
And I was like,
(Whoa, chill! I'm from earth, guys.)
They all jumped down from where they were sitting and it was like a hundred meters high. I swear, even the women were jumping.
"I swear, even the women here are something else. Who jumps that high like it's nothing?"
They came toward me slowly, laughing, hands stretched out like they already won.
"You're dead meat! I'll burn you to ashes!" one of them said, eyes full of confidence.
And why wouldn't they be? It was one guy me against hundreds of them. I was completely surrounded. No way out.
Even now, my elemental power hasn't shown up. "Wind…" I whispered. Nothing.
Did the system power die? How do I recharge it? Is there some code to activate it? Come on… just work… I muttered to myself.
Bang! The ground shook. Everyone looked up.
It was Elder Chen. He had slammed his staff into the ground.
"He passed the test." Elder Chen spoke from above. Everyone looked shocked and couldn't believe what they had just heard, but no one dared to speak out.
"Bring him to my chamber," Elder Chen said before walking away.
From the spot where Elder Chen had been standing, someone suddenly jumped down. Everyone stepped back as she approached me, the crowd began to bow and call her name, Li Aing
Yes, it was a woman. And I could tell right away she had authority here.
It had been a long time since I arrived here, and I hadn't seen many beautiful women. No, it was a girl. If angels really existed, she'd probably be one of them, maybe the most stylish, too. I couldn't help but stare at her. She had a stunning figure. Her clothes showed just enough to notice her curved chest, her hips it was hard not to notice.
"Wow…" I whispered under my breath. Even now, with all this danger around me, my eyes refused to cooperate. Guess some things never change, "man desire!"
She stopped and looked at me for a few seconds, but didn't say anything. Then she turned around and walked away.
"I'm moving… what the…?"
My body started moving on its own. I wasn't walking, it felt like something was pulling me. That's when I saw it, a thread coming from her hand, flowing through the air, wrapping around me.
I had been so distracted by her beauty, I didn't even notice the threads.
"That's how people die, too busy staring and not paying attention," I muttered to myself. Note to self, next time, look less...think first and admire later."
It was better to look at this beautiful lady than at that featureless face that almost killed me.
On the way, I kept wondering, "Okay, how do I turn on this element power thing? It showed up only when an arrow almost hit me. But seriously, why didn't it pop up when hundreds of people were trying to kill me? Come on, power, work with me here!"
There was a staircase with a hundred steps, but I was lucky, I didn't have to walk. She was pulling me along. At the top stood a castle, unlike anything I had ever seen, surrounded by a thin streams of smoke rising from cracks in the ground and designed like something out of an ancient. Its rooftops curved upward like dragon wings, and the walls were covered in Phoenix patterns.
The castle had a massive gate, so huge that even an elephant could walk through it easily. Inside, everyone was watching me. The people were dressed in beautiful, elegant robes, like nobles from a high-ranking court, flowing silk, embroidered with fire, cranes, and dragons.
We entered a grand hall. The floor was polished stone, reflecting the light of giant hanging lanterns. Red pillars stretched up to a painted ceiling filled with scenes of mountains and mythical beasts. On both sides were rows of seats for the guests, all facing forward.
At the very top of the hall, there was a throne. And there, sitting on it, was Elder Chen.
Elder Chen asked, "Why is a man from the Wind Region here in the Fire Region? What brought you here?"
I thought to myself,
(Now what? What should I say? If I told the truth, he wouldn't believe me. But if I lied, I didn't know what might have happened between these two regions. He could even order me to be executed. What should I do?)
So, I said, "I'm not from the Wind Region, and I don't know how I got this power."
Even Elder Chen didn't fully understand what was happening. If he really was from the W
ind Region, he should have a wind symbol, but he didn't, elder Chen thought.
To learn more, Elder Chen said, "Li Aing, you will stay with him."