Martial Arts Worlds

"SILENCE!"

A booming voice echoed throughout the gymnasium like a thunderclap, and the talkative students turned so silent that a pin drop could be heard.

They stood straight like a statue and didn't even dare to move their heads around, but their eyes darted all around the place.

They wondered who just spoke, and at that moment, they saw a black-haired young man walk to the front with a shy girl hiding behind him.

"Ah…"

"Oh my god…"

When they saw the black-haired young man, their hearts almost exploded out of nervousness as they recognized him.

'It's Kiernan! It's really him!'

'I can't believe he's actually here!'

'H-He is responsible for testing us? That's crazy!'

Once it all quieted down, Kiernan looked over to Melia and asked with a voice loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Is this everyone?"

"W-we emailed everyone that if you aren't in the gymnasium in time, y-you can kiss the chance of joining goodbye.

"The time is already up…"

Melia said shyly.

"Alright. Good."

Kiernan looked over to the nervous-looking students, almost three hundred of them, and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"My name is Kiernan Hunter. Your rankings from your middle school days have been taken into account, and you have been assigned your ranking.

"However, your ranking doesn't mean shit right now. We aren't looking for the strongest one now. We are looking for those who will be strongest in the future."

Kiernan said and looked around at the people in the gymnasium—some raised their chins arrogantly, some looked nervous, and few had expressions of determination and focus.

'This is my last year at Karuza High. After this year, the future of this school will be on their shoulders.'

At that moment, the gymnasium's door opened, and Coach Jin walked in with a surprised look flashing by his eyes.

"Kiernan, you've come. I guess you've met the recruits, haha!"

Coach Jin walked to him and gave him a firm handshake.

"Just gave them a brief speech. You can take the lead, and I'll do whatever you want me to do."

Kiernan said and stepped backwards, standing beside nervous-looking Melia, who felt reassured now that the coach had arrived.

"Let's start the test, shall we? If you think you're already guaranteed a spot in the club because you did well in your middle school, stop right there and remember that this is a whole new level!

"We're the reigning national champions, and with that comes pride that you'll need to carry everywhere when you carry Karuza High's insignia on your back!

"From our winning team, Jonathan had already graduated, and the rest—Kiernan, Julian, Dominic, and Julia—are all third years!

"After this year, it is time for the new generation to take the reins, and all of you will be part of it. We don't want to leave the team without a solid foundation for the future.

"Just making nationals isn't cutting it anymore. We, Karuza High, are always expected to fight for the victory from now on.

"We're the top-ranked school in the nation, and we must continue to perform at that level way after Kiernan and others have graduated!"

The coach said.

'There is a lot of uncertainty within Karuza High. While the reputation of the school is the highest it has ever been, no one will know how they will do in the future.

'Sure, we're easily the top contender for another championship this year, but what after that? It's difficult to predict what will happen in the future, and I understand the uncertainty of the school's future.

'However, I only laid groundwork. It's up to the next generation to build upon it and continue our success, and who knows, maybe they will do better than I did.'

Kiernan thought.

…

It turned dark across Irio as the night fell over the cityscape, and within the Hunter household, Kiernan lay on his bed, scrolling down social media on his phone.

He was just checking some news about the goings-on of the world, and he saw a report that surprised him.

[EXPEDITION AT DEAD WORLD - ANOTHER FAILURE?]

"They're still going there, huh? An expedition is expected to happen in a couple of years, and after several failures, this might be the last expedition ever."

Kiernan said.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

At that moment, something tapped on the window. It almost sounded like someone was throwing rocks at it.

However, when he went to look over, he saw a white-winged pigeon perched on the windowsill, staring back at him with its beady eyes.

"Nevaeh's pigeon?"

Kiernan opened the window, but at that moment heard a growl, and then, from the corner of his eye, saw Fen leap towards the pigeon with a snarl on his face.

"Don't!"

Kiernan caught the flying Fen before it could reach the pigeon, and he let out a sad sound that his father stopped him from having a tasty dinner.

'I think Nevaeh can see everything that the pigeon does. I hope she only thinks that Fen is merely a dog and nothing else.

'It's not that I don't trust Nevaeh, but I wouldn't like anyone finding out about Fen, which is also the reason that I haven't told my father or Julian about him.'

Kiernan thought and saw that there was a paper tied to the pigeon's leg. He unraveled it and read the message written in neat handwriting.

It was just asking about how it went with the girl that managed to capture Kiernan's heart, as Bella was apparently very curious about it.

Kiernan quickly wrote a message to reply, tied it to the pigeon's leg, and caressed its feathers before it took flight into the night sky.

Cling!

He closed the window and heard a sad whimper coming from behind him.

"Come on, Fen. Don't be like that."

Kiernan crouched in front of the sad-looking Fen and scratched him behind his ears, but it didn't seem to improve his mood.

"Fine. I'll take you to the woods tomorrow, and I won't stop you there, alright, Fen?"

Fen raised his head, wagged his tail, and nodded excitedly.