"Agh!"
"Stay still, if you move it's much harder to examine you."
"That's easy for you to say!"
Behind me was one of the people who usually examines us from time to time. His name is Miguel and it never took him more than a few minutes, but now I've been here for a long time.
All this had started because of the intense burning sensation I felt inside my body. According to Miguel, as he examined me, the Qi inside my body had started to move violently and uncontrollably. Although I could make the pain go away for a while if I concentrated, Miguel said that could be dangerous.
"It seems that your body is suffering from a Qi overload."
His voice alerted me even more; he sounded much more concerned than ever before. I guess that's normal... Anyway, what is a Qi overload?
"What is a Qi overload?"
"It can be caused by several things, but in your case, it's the classic one. Your body has more Qi than it can handle. In your case, it's normal. I'm more surprised that you've never experienced this before."
The sensation of the doctor's Qi invading my body intensified in the area of my dantians, enveloping them completely.
"I don't have the ability to suppress the Qi completely. Therefore, you will start taking medicine and ask an instructor or elder to help you."
Aggghhh.... It sounds like a lot of trouble, which is too bad because the tournament starts tomorrow night.
<<>>
From what I can see, I was right. I've been here for a long time, and all I can do is sit and wait.
"We're done. You're much more stable now."
Hearing Dante's words, I jumped up from the chair, stretching to shake off the sleepiness that was starting to set in.
"Thank you very much, Instructor,"
I said, bowing politely. I had started doing this since I began training with the elders. They said something about maintaining respect and many other things like that. Honestly, I don't understand this, but the instructors will warn us if we don't act as they told us to, and we'll get punished.
The last thing I want is punishment from the elders.
"The pain may return, so try not to use Qi as much as possible. It won't solve the problem, but it will alleviate it."
"Instructor, what about that Qi thing? Will something bad happen to me?"
Dante seemed surprised by my question, putting a hand to his chin before saying,
"You could die."
"HIK!"
And he just tells me that like that!? Have I been surviving by luck and now I'm going to die just because!? Dante spoke again as he stroked my head.
"Don't worry, that happens in the most advanced cases. In your case, other things may happen."
"Like what?"
"You may experience exaggerated growth, your body may generate rejection of Qi as protection. Or otherwise, a disease that kills you slowly."
None of these things are good. I have to use up Qi as quickly as possible. I don't want anything like that to happen to me.
"For now, I'll have to check on you daily. They'll give you medicine, right?"
"Yes, Mr. Miguel told me he would prepare some."
Dante just nodded and got up, leaving me behind. Damn it, I have to get this disease right now.
<<<<>>>>
At night, we had left the sect, and we were surprised to see the surroundings full of lights and people.
"Wow, everything is so bright and noisy!"
Anna had already gone ahead of us, running around and exploring. She was wearing the same uniform as always, but part of her hair was pinned up with a clip, which was unusual... I wonder if I should tell her that her forehead is reflecting the light...
"Hey, stay close."
The one who said that was Miss Hyeol. She and Ophelia had brought us to this place. We were already close to the venue, but nothing nearby looked like it did on the day we signed up. There were many food stalls, people wearing masks waving fire around with their hands, and many kids my age running around.
...I feel much more like playing with them than going to the tournament. Even more so after what they told me earlier.
*******
"You can't overexert yourself in the tournament. Your body is in bad shape. If you get hurt or take a hard hit that destabilizes you, you'll end up half dead."
As Miguel spoke, he forced me to take one last look at my body before the tournament. The taste is disgusting. I don't know what he made it with, but I hope the taste improves.
*******
It's a nuisance. I'll have to try much harder not to get hit hard. The worst part is that, according to Ophelia and Miss Hyeol, we're going to face other cult members. According to them, they used to sign up for these tournaments to gain experience against different opponents.
"Hey, you guys, stop wandering around, we're close to the place,"
Ophelia said, lifting them up with her power and keeping us close to her.
"Come on, come on, don't be such a killjoy. We used to come to these places too and explore
"Come on, come on, don't be such a killjoy. We used to come to these places and explore too. Remember, Ophelia?"
Hyeol asked, resting his head on Ophelia's shoulder. She pushed him away with a tap on his forehead.
"You dragged me here against my will, and because of you, I got punished several times."
"Awww. Don't say that, you're going to hurt my feelings."
Miss Hyeol put her hand to her forehead and pretended to be in great pain, falling backwards and leaning on Ophelia. Ophelia pushed her away.
All these days were like this, even for the instructors and Elders it was annoying. But we weren't allowed to say anything or we would all be punished.
In the distance, I could see the place where we signed up. Now it didn't even look like it did that day. The little table where an old man used to sit was now occupied by a larger man, who seemed to be attending to the huge line in front of him.
"Tsk, this is the worst part about these places. Well, stay here and go in when it's your turn. I'm going to find something to eat."
Ophelia didn't even let us refuse when she turned around and left with Hyeol. I want something to eat too...
"Conan, stay here. We'll go explore."
"What!? Wait!"
Ghislaine, Goon-woo, Ana, and Della ran off in the opposite direction from where we were. How dare they leave me alone!? Didn't they see that there are a lot of guys here who will be our opponents!?
Aghh... I have no choice but to stay here, huh? Well, at least I can see who I'm up against.
I looked at the others in line, checking out their bodies and weapons. Most of them looked much older than me, and almost all of them were carrying swords. The only "strange" one was a dark-skinned girl carrying knives, I guess that's what they were.
I could see that others were carrying daggers and spears, but they didn't seem as strange to me as the girl with the knives. Even more so because, compared to the daggers, her knives seemed thicker and smaller.
"Hey kid, do you have the tickets?"
The man at the table asked me, bringing me back to my senses. I hadn't realized he was already in front of me. So I hurried to take out the tickets Hyeol had given us.
"Here they are,"
I said, standing on tiptoe to reach the table.
"There's more than one here. Where are the other participants?"
I wondered the same thing. I couldn't even see them near me...
"We're here!"
Suddenly, Ghislaine and the others appeared in front of me. Seeing them appear out of nowhere made me let out a loud scream of fear.
"All right, come in."
The man pointed to the door behind him, while his attention was focused on the person behind him.
"Come on, we have to see who our opponents will be!"
Anna and Della were the first to enter, followed by the three of us behind them.
"Wow!"
We all exclaimed at the same time. Inside was a large room filled with seats arranged in a circle. And in the middle was a battle arena.
"Are you participants?"
Someone asked us from our side. When we turned around, we saw a woman with large horns sticking out from one side of her head. They curved forward, just like a goat's.
"Yes, we are."
"Very well, come this way and choose a weapon you are familiar with."
Smiling at us, she led us to the back of the place. Inside, there were several boys and girls around Ghisliane's age, carrying weapons while talking.
They all turned around when they saw us enter, only to ignore us and continue talking. None of the four waited, and they went to pick up swords from a basket. I, on the other hand, was surprised to see several large and small axes, whips, and even scythes.
"Conan, hurry up and choose one, you're the first to fight."
Goon-woo pointed to a piece of paper pinned to the wall with several names on it. Mine was the first one