Moments later, she emerged from her room wearing a sleeveless white shirt, her arms covered only by another black shirt hidden beneath, clenching around her arms which boasted muscles like boulders. She wore loose, striped gray trousers. Oshnirai descended the stairs quietly to find Yogishi placing some books and notebooks on the table, watching him with disdain. [ Oshnirai ]: "Your preoccupation with tidying a house you don't live in is the reason for your academic delay, you failure." Yogishi raised his head from a book he held in his hands, glancing at her with a look of regret. [ Yogishi ]: "Lady Oshnirai, please have mercy on me." Oshnirai smiled at him and moved away from the living room, advancing toward the exit door. [ Oshnirai ]: "Goodbye, take care of yourself." [ Yogishi ]: "Fine, good luck with training." The echo of Yogishi's voice followed her to the exit until Oshnirai opened the door to leave; Yogishi watched her walk away with a sparking smile. [ Yogishi ]: "Cute old lady. I wish I had a grandmother as cute as her." He returned to being busy with his studies with his happy face, while Oshnirai took her steps toward her destination, the path not devoid of passing people. High above the depths of the sea, where the clear blue sky traveled with passing clouds and the sun shone in the center, the Surface City appeared below, embracing the land. The percentage of water flooding the city flowed into every corner, and as it moved, it produced loud sounds as if coming from a pumping machine. Groups of people moved in several directions—they weren't just passersby, but appeared to be in a unified uniform of gray dye with blue horizontal stripes, and a dome-like helmet dominated by the same color, shining with the sun's rays above their heads. At the head of each one of them, spheres like bubbles covered them, filled with water, and what was inside moved due to the vibration of the bodies of those whose faces were encased. The species of each member were different from the other, as the groups were mixed with men and women. Each group stood in a corner, collaborating to pull and drag a black hose like a giant worm; the latter suctioned the amount of water that had crawled inside the city as if trying to drink every drop of water, returning the land. These hoses, which roamed every road, extended from a black cubic machine like a tank to which the suctioned quantities of water were sent. It was mounted atop ten wheels that fixed what it carried firmly to the ground; it was the source of the noisy sounds, and the water percentage dropped as time passed. Among the hoses distributed around was one working on suctioning water, also under the control of a group in gray uniforms. Among them appeared a woman with dark skin and blonde hair falling behind her back; she had broken blue eyes and gritted her teeth along with the rest of the operators due to the weight and massiveness of the hose until they all decided to leave it, letting it shake the ground beneath their feet, panting from fatigue as their hands left it. One of them broke his silence. [ Person ]: "How much water percentage is left before us?" The blonde-haired woman turned to him. [ Woman ]: "A lot. About 30 minutes to finish the work. It would have been possible to finish the operation earlier if we had come sooner... Come on, let's go back to complete the work so we can end this misery." The woman's voice was calm and organized; every word coming from her mouth carried light weight. [ Woman ] (to herself): "I also want to finish this as quickly as possible so that I can go to that place." Then they returned to carrying the hose, following their work under the clarity of the sky decorated with sunbeams and passing shapes of clouds. Returning to the seabed and in one part of its city stood a building with wooden colors centered by a wide glass door large enough for groups to enter. An overhead frame was mounted with an introductory sentence: ( Technical Training and Psychological Balance Room ). Oshnirai finally reached it and stood contemplating it. [ Oshnirai ]: "So, it's time to focus on combat skills." She approached the door, pulling its black handles to push it open, revealing the interior space. The surroundings were vast, the walls rough to the touch, invaded by wet sandy colors where numbers of humans stepped. In one corner stood a reception desk with a receptionist nearby, showing his smile and welcoming every visitor. Oshnirai walked toward him, and the latter prepared himself to welcome her. [ Receptionist ]: "Welcome Lady Ahijki Oshnirai. Are you ready for your training?" [ Oshnirai ]: "Haha, I wouldn't have come here if I wasn't fully prepared." [ Receptionist ]: "Good. Hand over your phone, please. As you know, we don't allow the trainee to be occupied with their device." Oshnirai put her hand in her shirt to take out a modern-style phone with a lavender-colored protective cover; the receptionist received it immediately. [ Receptionist ]: "Now, advance payment in cash." Her wide laugh broke out at him. [ Oshnirai ]: "The money is already ready and more, but you'll get it if I finish the training. Who knows, something might happen that forces me to leave the place before I start. I think the matter has become clear to you." [ Receptionist ]: "As you wish, you are a loyal customer; you can pay later... please proceed to one of the two corners." Oshnirai headed toward two doors at the front. Each door had a sign with brief phrases: the left door carried the phrase ( Technical Mastery Corner ) and the right door carried the phrase ( Psychological Balance Corner ). Finally, she headed to the entrance of the Technical Mastery Corner. She opened the door slowly to reveal a number of trainees—some emitting a green aura, some launching glowing phosphorus balls from their hands toward the wall, and some training together in physical clashing. Oshnirai entered to go deeper inside, reaching a corner she found empty of anyone but her. [ Oshnirai ]: "Now I have to wait for that Chyohana." On the front wall of the place was a square clock where the hands moved regularly; Oshnirai monitored every moving hand as time passed. After 30 minutes, the entrance door opened, and the one who entered was Chyohana. She wasn't wearing her Victorian blue dress, as she matched Oshnirai in the same clothes except for her hat, which was the only thing still covering her head. Chyohana walked while looking in all directions until her sight fell on where Oshnirai stood waiting, monitoring the clock. [ Chyohana ]: "Stop monitoring the time, for here I am." Oshnirai turned to her with her disdainful look. [ Oshnirai ]: "Aha, you arrived after I had to be patient for thirty minutes." Chyohana walked until she reached a distance of half a meter separating her from Oshnirai. [ Chyohana ]: "Be thankful for the time that passed, because it was excellent for preparing your body for what it will be subjected to." Suddenly, Chyohana's tone of voice turned rough as burning fires covered her eyes, clenching her fists, all directed toward Oshnirai, who watched her coolly with a light smile on her face. [ Chyohana ]: "Because I will keep you in a state of training until nightfall. You will master the new technique despite yourself. So, did you fill your stomach with the necessary food?" Oshnirai scratched her head and let out a shaky laugh. [ Oshnirai ]: "Aaa. Haha, all I consumed was tea, because food takes time in preparation and I only had an hour." Chyohana was silent for a long time until the fires in her eyes disappeared, making her hands relax. [ Chyohana ] (shouting): "You ugly woman! Since when is tea classified as a complete food? Since time wasn't enough, you should have headed directly to the restaurant." [ Oshnirai ]: "Haha, oh my... I don't prefer restaurant food, and that's why I didn't think of it." Chyohana's loud shouting made everyone in the corner turn toward them. [ Chyohana ] (shouting): "Their food doesn't appeal to you? Then you will eat it whether you like it or not." Oshnirai looked at her with a tremble. [ Oshnirai ]: "Okay, okay, I'm the one at fault, but please, not to Efano the Snake's restaurant. Take me anywhere as long as it's not her restaurant." Chyohana advanced toward her to grab her hand, pressing on it, and pulled her out of the corner. [ Chyohana ]: "You alone are the one who will eat. There's no need to go to Efano, you brainless woman." Chyohana continued pulling her under the gazes of astonishment from the receptionist until they were outside the training room. Chyohana left her hand once they exited the place. [ Chyohana ]: "We will head to a nearby restaurant, and I will settle for explaining the mechanism of the new technique I designed in my brain—how it works, what it does, and how you launch it. Time is too narrow to waste, and this is because of you and because of the President." Oshnirai nodded in agreement with a light and shaky smile. [ Oshnirai ]: "Your requests are orders, my dear." [ Chyohana ]: "Then let's go, my foolish dear." They moved away from the training room. In a moment, they appeared sitting inside a restaurant, each opposite the other, centered by a circular table with a dish and a plate. The dish carried rice balls and the plate occupied its bottom with a ramen dish decorated with boiled eggs. Oshnirai held the chopsticks firmly in preparation to eat, and Chyohana watched her with disdain. [ Chyohana ]: "I will start the explanation, so put your ears in listening mode and your brain in analysis mode so I don't have to re-explain my words, understood?" [ Oshnirai ]: "I am fully ready to listen to you, frog of the swamps." [ Chyohana ]: "The new technique, my friend, I named 'King of the Earth: Fortress of Cruelty.' The reason for the naming: First, why 'King of the Earth'? Because the technique emerges or comes out of the earth and turns the surroundings into its kingdom. Second, why 'Fortress of Cruelty'? Because a fortress, as is known, its job is protection and repelling attacks only—it does nothing else. But what if your fortress was doing its usual job and attacking as well? What if it was launching sharp blades like triangles chasing the enemy? I will explain the idea of the technique more, so get ready for the explanation." Chyohana laughed a wide laugh and Oshnirai listened to her intently, the ramen plate depleting as she ate it, then Chyohana focused her gaze on her. [ Chyohana ]: "What is the 'King of the Earth: Fortress of Cruelty' technique? it is a fortress of chasing projectiles. You strike the earth after choosing the specific emergence distance, and a wall comes out that dominates that distance—even the entire surroundings—and then, of its own accord, it launches sharp blade triangles. These latter ones chase whoever is not behind the fortress for a certain period. When the certain period expires, the blades disappear, and to return them, you must touch the fortress as if you are ordering it, and those blades appear again. Bearing in mind that it's as if you are re-launching the technique, and you know what this means, right? So be careful..." Oshnirai nodded in agreement, having finished what was in the plate, and then she began eating the rice balls while Chyohana looked at her sharply. [ Chyohana ]: "Very good. Let's continue... Since you are a metal user and the first gram you consumed was in a technique from iron metal, it's time to use another type of metal, which is silver. Meaning that the fortress will be of silver metal and the blades likewise silver-metal, and they will shine from the lighting, radiating with a silver color. Hahaha, the easiest step for you will be the process of imagining the chosen metal, which is silver as I said, and this is actually the first step. Then do the following. What is the next step? Step Two: Your hands from above to the earth. What is the next step? Step Three: Choosing the distance you want to cover with the fortress. And let's move now to the next step. Step Four: Pump into your chest well, flow Chigi from that area so it leaks through your arms to your hands reaching the earth, so the fortress forms. It appears completely then, and then we will see the display of its blades chasing anyone who is not in its protection. Hahaha." Oshnirai finished the rice balls dish, then looked silently at her for a long time with her light smile. [ Oshnirai ]: "It seems that's everything... I will give you my frank opinion about the technique... It is cruel, evil, strong, wonderful, and amazing before enemies. It made me excited to learn and try it. Let's go back to the training room immediately." She said her words with the widening of her laugh, standing up from sitting. Chyohana looked at her with happiness, showing her excitement, and decided to stand as well. [ Chyohana ]: "Of course it is that, my dear. That's why its name is 'King of the Earth: Fortress of Cruelty.' To the training room!" They moved away from the restaurant table seats and exited, moving away. In moments, they appeared inside the corner of the training room, approaching where they were before. They found two people who had beaten them to it, so they approached them, signs of astonishment clear on their faces. Chyohana placed her hands on the sides of her waist. [ Chyohana ]: "Hey, you two. Did no one teach you that this spot is reserved? Look for another vacancy." One of them looked at her, advancing toward her with features of challenge and malice, showing a wide laugh. [ Person ]: "We found the spot empty, so we took it as a place for us. You are the one who must look for a new vacancy. You shouldn't have moved away from it from the start." Chyohana crossed her arms and looked at him, moving her eyebrows. [ Chyohana ]: "We left for a while for health reasons. This doesn't mean we left the place. So leave, you and your companion, quietly and without trouble." [ Person ]: "If you fear trouble, then you leave, you sewer frog." She placed her hand on her head, letting out a sigh, while Oshnirai monitored them with a sarcastic smile and turned herself away, moving outside the corner. [ Chyohana ]: "I am trying to protect you from trouble. Move away, we don't have the whole day." [ Person ]: "You too are wasting our time. The place is wide, find another spot." [ Chyohana ]: "Look at the place. It's buzzing with people like us. Do you want me to give up our place so simply and waste time searching?" [ Person ]: "Aaa... frog, you know that survival is for the strongest, don't you?" [ Chyohana ]: "Correct, but I just didn't know you were an animal like me." The person's eyes widened, showing his teeth rubbing against each other, announcing his anger. [ Person ]: "What?" [ Chyohana ]: "Like I said, survival is for the strongest. If I touch you, you won't be able to solve the school assignments—between brackets, your next mission. But don't worry, I am not a fierce animal. I am understanding like you, and likewise we have a mission waiting for us tomorrow. So leave with your friend to avoid delaying both of us from performing our duty." [ Person ] (shouting): "Enough, you sewer frog! You left the place and I found the spot empty, so this place is ours. Understand, you green one! And if you are insistent, I will throw you out." Suddenly, the voice of the receptionist's speech came, interrupting the quarrel, revealing both him and Oshnirai.
Chapter 23 - Chapter 23: Silver Fortress
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