MTLNOVEL Chapter 91: Chapter 91
«Yoko!» Nia yelled when she saw me and rushed to my neck, «Azula!» the line went to Azula after me.
«Honey», Nia's place was taken by my mother and she hugged me, «It's good to see you.»
«Me too», I patted her back, «How are you?»
«Good», she nodded with a smile, «As you can see, I took your advice.»
Yes, the differences were huge compared to what they had been before. The South Pole had almost caught up with the North Pole. And that's just a huge result, considering that there were only minimal amenities here before. Heh, still, training the mages in my methods gave them a good boost, and some financial ideas allowed them to develop very quickly.
«Good to see you», I said with a smile.
«Are you hungry?»
«Not really, Mom», I shook my head, «How's Nia?»
«Eh. She's difficult», she sighed heavily, «She reminds me a lot of you. Just as restless and adventurous.»
«Are you afraid to let go?» I asked with interest.
«Very much so», she nodded, «These are troubled times.»
«Let her come to my island», I shrugged, «It's safe there.»
«I doubt she'll want to», she shook her head, «But that's not the point. Why didn't you warn anyone?»
«I just decided to come on the spur of the moment», I scratched the back of my head, «Azula missed you.»
«And you didn't?» she asked suspiciously.
«Neither did I», I quickly assured her, «But I didn't want to worry you. And if it wasn't for Azula, we wouldn't have gotten here in time», I soured at the end of my sentence.
«Uh, you», she rubbed my drooping head, «I'm worried about you.»
When the process of the holy embrace was over, we moved on to the palace. The man from the white lotus sect was sent away and told to return in two days. After that there was a feast and we just socialized.
No pathos or talk, just pure and open. I learned that Nia has a lot of admirers. And my stepfather left just before I arrived. It's sad. Eh. Anyway, we all had a good time. For two whole days.
And then people from the white lotus sect came to ask for accept Avatar test. The training ground hadn't changed at all during that time, it was still the same. The same three arenas, the same fence, and the same people. Without delay, they went into the house.
«Korra, he's here!» shouted a man inside the house. And right after he said that, something rumbled, then banged, and finally a bowl shattered.
«Coming!» came a pained voice to us. I smiled, Honey smiled, and the man made a hand-face gesture.
A few minutes later the little one came down. And even though she's grown up, she's still the same petite one.
«Hi, I'm Korra», she smiled and held out her hand.
«Yoko», I shook her hand in return, «This is Azula, my wife.»
«Nice to meet you», she said with the same smile.
«Just like you asked, he's here», the man said tiredly, «Are you ready for your exams?»
«Yes!» she exclaimed happily, throwing away all other thoughts.
«Good, then out you go», I nodded and walked into the Earth arena.
«What about the uniforms?» she asked confused.
«Uniforms are only needed in sports», I said calmly, «In real life they won't and can't be.»
«Okay», she said somehow quietly.
«So, what can you do?» I asked calmly. Petty got nervous.
«Fire, earth, and water magic!» she said cheerfully. Eh, she's just a kid after all.
«What about air?» I asked confused.
«Tenzin didn't teach me because he doesn't have time», she muttered angrily.
«I see», I scratched my chin, «So let's go in order. Show me what you know about water magic.»
A blink and Korra attacked. A wave and a jet of water flies towards me. A smooth movement and the water changes direction. Another stream and the same result. Next thing I know, I'm hit with a bunch of ice and water. Nothing new or creative. It's just mundane attacks.
But just defending is boring, so after deflecting another attack, I raise a small column of ice. With a flick of the wrist, a thin disk of ice flew towards Korra. By some miracle, she was able to dodge it. Another, and the disk sliced off some of her hair. Another and another. Gradually the speed increased and she had no time to attack.
Every wall she had was removed by me, and I attacked her only with ice disks. This went on until the first scratch. When she got it, I stopped.
«Do you realize your mistake?» I asked calmly.
«No», she said a little out of breath.
«You lack imagination», I shook my head, «I only used one attack and you couldn't defend against it.»
«How can you defend against something like that?» she asked, confused.
«Many ways», I shrugged, «Run, hide, or even make your own ice armor. Disks are very fragile», to demonstrate, I picked one up and lowered it gently. It burst.
«I see», Korra hung her head.
«Then let's continue with the fire.»
A bang and a small ball of fire flew towards her. Again she followed the same script. She attacked, showed what she could do, I defended and sometimes dodged. Fire is a tricky element. And she's new to it. So I finished firing and stopped the fight.
«Do you wield lightning?» I asked, not really expecting a positive answer.
«No», she lowered her head.
«Can you show me what I once showed you?» she didn't answer, but clenched her fists tightly, «I'm not asking you to show me fire of the same power, just the technique itself.»
She nodded and caught her breath. A little time to clear herself. And begin the technique. It looks simple from the outside, but it is one of the most difficult. To become a master of fire magic, it is a must.
Inhale and exhale. Slowly, the surroundings began to heat up until the nearly extinguished embers suddenly flared up. From her measured breathing, the fire began to shoot upward. It was weak at first, but it grew larger and larger. At a height of five meters, it flickered out, and that was a bit of a stretch, but it counted.