With the opening of the second chakra, I began to learn all the techniques of strategy and related areas more quickly. A month of training with Afka turned out to be the most productive in my entire life, and all this was solely due to a new, cleansed flow of Qi in my body. However, it was not that she made me smarter or stronger. the reason was my changed view of the world... I learned to look at situations differently, perhaps exactly as Boomi wanted. No, I didn't go crazy, I just grew beyond myself. Feeling joy at the start of any training session, you will inevitably begin to work harder; looking at things as opportunities, you will be able to realise previously unseen potential; learning to play Pai Shou, you will improve many times faster. Simply because you see more possibilities.
If it weren't for that, I wouldn't have dared to challenge the whole village after only a month of learning various techniques. I would never in my life have looked these "man-eaters" in the eye, capable of destroying you in any game, and knowing hundreds, maybe half a thousand of all possible techniques of Chin, with my thirty memorised ones, if it weren't for two things: Firstly, I had a real monster of knowledge at my side who had already learned all the possible techniques and could therefore continue to teach me in the future. Secondly, I don't yet know anyone who can use those thirty techniques better than I can.The first tournament in the history of the village, intended for the Avatar himself, began right on the square, in front of the half-burnt statues. Lifting stones, I created many tables with seats, where the elders brought game boards. For some reason, none of the locals wanted to challenge the elders, but they watched with great interest as one of them sat down at the table with me. He was pumped up, showing off his still good shape, but shivering from the cold. After all, we were right by the sea, and the wind was strong.
"Why don't you put some clothes on? You'll catch a cold," I said, raising an eyebrow.
"Ha, only after I show Avatar what I'm still capable of. And stop talking nonsense, I'm about to die," he said, picking up the chips with his powerful fingers and making the first move with a crash that made the board jump. They nicknamed me "quick shot" because my opponents fell dead after a quick defeat.
"Then call me 'thirty'," he replied powerfully, immediately making the old man blush.
"What do you mean?
"That's all I need to win the tournament," the rule of quick moves remained the same — you either had ten seconds or you lost the right to continue. The look on my opponent's face when I responded to his lightning-fast, split-second moves with identical ones was indescribable. He was even more shocked when he realised that my eyes were not on the board, but on him.
"H-how did you... - sweat poured off the old man as I rearranged the pieces, pressing my opponent with my gaze," - I-it's impossible, you're not even looking at the board!
"I can sense this game in advance and know every move you're going to make.
His knees began to tremble. In real combat, all methods of victory were used, and making your opponent afraid was one of the most effective. It worked even better when all of your opponent's pieces fell one after another into the pit of despair.
"Kha-ah!" Falling off his chair, the trembling old man began to crawl away from me. All his pieces were surrounded, one after another.
"Karst pits, old man. You've fallen into a wolf trap.
If I looked like a harbinger of death, exuding an aura of invincibility, it was only because it was so much fun, and an unquenchable thirst was awakening in the depths of my heart... to show off.
"Why am I watching this?" Afka lay down on the table and covered her face with her paws so she wouldn't have to see how my aura of brutality was affecting those around me.
Okay, every opponent made me genuinely enjoy myself and search the recesses of my mind for unusual moves and combinations. Just as Boomer saw new possibilities in seemingly ordinary things, I looked for opportunities to use the techniques of Chin the Conqueror. Sometimes such situations simply did not arise, so I had to improvise, throwing my opponent into a stupor with a move that seemed chaotic to him, or frightening him with my behaviour and acting like a true king of the field.
But for the same reason... I, like Afka, felt extreme shame. The thing is, I had never had to deliberately show off before. My image was created by other people and rumours, and from time to time I just happened to be in the right place at the right time, partly thanks to my lack of success. I never really had to play up my image, but now was the best time to achieve the best image possible — I had begun to understand people more or less and had become better at predicting their future actions, so even without Anubis's help, I could guess what rumours would spread about me if I won the tournament. Some would embellish, others would slander, and still others would make a mountain out of a molehill. And so, the new King of Conquests was ready. And there I would fight with shame.
"Is that all?" Fighting embarrassment and demonstrating willpower, I defeated another resident of the nursing home.
"So you're the last one left," at that moment, tapping his cane on the floor, some bag of bones with a long white beard fell onto the table in front of me. His hair fell onto the table like hands placing chips in their places - very arrogant," "I heard you came here just a month ago. You didn't even know about the great Chin before.
This old man had the same aura of a fucker as I did.
"I don't remember you.
"Heh, of course. I only play with the best, and I rarely come to the cultural centre. Pai Sho isn't just 'fun' for me," he glanced to the side, looking at the pile of defeated old men trembling with fear, who had been given warm blankets and hot chocolate. Only something tasty could help after I beat everyone... defeated them," "For me, it's a way to learn history.
Spirit
Placing a lotus token in the centre of the table, he forced me to open my mouth. Sweat dripped from my forehead, and disbelief was written in my eyes. Only when a shadow fell across my face did I make my move, bypassing all of Chin's well-known techniques.
"So you're the famous Sand Mage that everyone's been talking about? They say that some people from the Fire Tribe are interested in you.
"Someone is always interested in me. Sometimes I'm unlucky, and that interest turns into persecution and stalking," I said, keeping my eyes on the old man and following the typical Lotus strategy, albeit unusual for the locals.
"But it's unlikely that they would have prepared an entire fleet with a commander at the helm for this. Imagine dozens of ships and a whole fleet of sand mages to boot. I think the longer you stay in one place, the higher the chance that they will find your trail... unless, of course, you need to cover your tracks.
"Hide? It's not worth the effort," my answer made the calm man squint. "I'll leave soon so as not to disturb the locals, and then I'll wait for anyone who wants to meet me.
"As you wish. In any case, the fire people are unlikely to get here anytime soon — they say that the spirit of Chin the Conqueror lives in the sea. He stops the ships of the fire people, which is why our territories have not yet been captured. There are great dangers lurking in the sea.
At that moment, our nimble fingers finished arranging the pieces. It was the fastest game of the day. The pieces, arranged in the correct order, resulted in a draw, signifying peace between all participants. Of course, we didn't make a lotus — it would have been reckless to do so in front of everyone. It was a beautiful situation with two fortresses that had reinforced their walls against each other, with no intention of attacking further. When ordinary observers realised that a very rare situation had occurred in this game, they froze and began to whisper to each other.
"Is this Chin's strategy? They built fortresses opposite each other and divided the board into perfectly even sections.
"Of course, you idiot, the two best players followed her, maybe they know Pai Shou better?
"Who did you call an idiot?
"But who won in the end? - We both turned to the participants and raised our hands. We didn't feel like continuing, so we stood up, shook hands, and walked away as if nothing had happened.
The spectators gaped, not knowing how to sum up the outcome.
Considering how unexpected the outcome of the battle was, I wondered if my attempts to be cool would have any effect. Would I end up with an improved image, or would my efforts be smeared into an incomprehensible mess due to the draw?
"Since you can 'predict' the future yourself, figure it out for yourself."
"Fuck... - my teeth gritted and my nails dug into my palms. I didn't even know who was the bigger bastard - Afka or Anubis. At least the first one let you pet him, but the second one resisted if you said something wrong.
Stopping with my new, unexpected acquaintance right on the cape with a magnificent view of the sea, he looked at me strangely.
"I heard rumours about the Sand Mage in the village, but I didn't think you were so interested in the game. It seemed like our meeting was impossible.
"H-h-h... well, sometimes you don't even know what to expect," he nodded in agreement, "I'm more surprised that a member of the Lotus is a fan of the local hero. Are you so interested in his achievements that you don't even want to talk about other things, heh?
"Even old people have their idols," he replied honestly and without embarrassment. "Besides, not all members of the Lotus possess magic or combat skills, so it never even occurred to me to meet you. I thought I wouldn't be able to interest him in anything. Nevertheless, the new hero took an interest in the old one, which is worthy of respect.
"Are you saying...
"I don't know," he exhaled quietly. Whether he was a member of the Lotus or not is unknown. However, the Lotus definitely communicated with Kioshi, and as a child, they did not recognise the Avatar, teaching some outsider boy. That's why it's not worth hoping for help from such a creature — what if, from childhood, he was raised to be against the whole world; or, having lost all his loved ones, he became a deranged and unstoppable killing machine; in the end, who would Lotus rely on if the Avatar disappeared? Do you understand? They only came to their senses after almost a hundred years, deciding to rely on you... if they had had such a policy from the beginning, the war would have ended long ago. Perhaps a new Chin would have appeared long ago and resolved the situation.
"Hmm. So, you're going to teach me? - Inspired and smiling broadly, he was immediately met with a dry stare.
"You already know everything, mole. You didn't even need to play a real game to understand that — you actually learned his techniques, you're not just copying his style of play. Of all the people I know... only King Boomi could do that. But he doesn't want to be a hero, ha ha. Let me guess, next you'll swim over to Kioshi? - his face twisted at the last word. Personal animosity.
"Yes, I'm thinking about how to get them to accept me. Any advice?
"Not my problem," he said, abruptly cutting off my hopes for help, grabbing my shoulders and looking me in the eyes. "But I have a personal request. If you ever need to show your strength, please use Chin's techniques to wipe the smirk off their faces. Heh heh, those recluses won't even know what hit them.
"...
"Oh, and yes. You can hire a ship at the pier; all the vessels there belong to me. They'll take you there for free, bypassing the sea monster.
...At least that's something.
"Oh, by the way! - something suddenly struck him," - The leader wanted to meet with you...
***
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