(Outdated) The King of Elements (part 2)

Chapter 89

A single chair sat in front of a wide table in the large, white-walled room. Three members of the Kurai Elite sat patiently behind the desk, each in their uniforms. Ian's eyes widened slightly as he saw Grandpa Samuel sitting in the middle, his hands clasped in front of him, his eyes on Ian as he walked to the seat. Even more surprising, Ichi sat beside him, giving Ian a foxlike grin. "State your name for your three judges," Samuel said, his voice stern.

"Ian Lamar Wolf," Ian said boldly.

"Why do you wish to join this illustrious group?"

"To defend and protect Earth, Amity, and my little brother from those who wish to do them harm."

There was a swift flash in Samuel's eyes, but in an instant, it disappeared. "Who granted you permission to try out?"

"Dr. Ichinose Kimachi."

"Can you vouch for him?" Samuel asked, looking to Ichi.

"Yes, I can," Ichi answer, sounding smug as usual. "Even though he's just an Apprentice, I believe that he would make an interesting part of the Kurai Elites."

Samuel nodded before turning back to Ian. "You may take a seat." He sat, his cyan eyes glued on his grandfather. "Ian Wolf. I know that you are aware that I am this group's leader. As leader, I am required to make good decisions on who gets accepted in this group and who doesn't. You're my grandson, and I love you, but if you aren't up to the standards, I will have to deny you entry to my group. You are aware of this, aren't you?"

"Yes, sir."

"And you still wish to continue?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then let's begin. I'll need you to forge three items from your ice: a kunai, a spear, and a katana." Ichi scooted to the edge of his seat and rested his head on his hands, mused. "Make them as sharp as you can get them."

Ian nodded. He stood and generated ice around his hands. Exhaling, he put both hands in front of him and squeezed his right, creating a tube with a hollow circle at the end. A short, diamond-shaped knife materialized as he slowly separated his hands. The judges' faces were unreadable. He placed the kunai on the table in front of Ichi before he did the same thing with the short spear and katana. He barely felt winded as the panel looked at the weapons.

"It appears to be sharp," the judge in street clothes said, thoughtfully looking over the spear. She slammed it on the table, making the other weapons rattle. There wasn't even a chip in it when she brought it back up to her face. "Durable too. Not too bad, Mister Wolf."

"The katana is a little off centered," Samuel said. "Other than that, I don't see much of a problem with it."

Ichi, standing as he observed the kunai, held the point in between his index finger and thumb before chucking it at the wall behind Ian. He heard a thick thud, followed by the crackling of ice. His heart pounding against his ribs, he looked to the knife behind him, panicked. Ian thought that the kunai would've shattered upon impact, however it not only stuck in the wall, it began to freeze a section of it over.

"Looks like you've passed the first section," Samuel said. It took everything Ian had not to showboat. He figured it would probably hurt more than help in this situation. The weapons liquefied before it flowed back into Ian's hands. "The second part is the test of your combat training. I'll have you combat against one of the current operatives in order to test your abilities. Remember, this is just a friendly sparring match. I don't want to see anyone get fatally wounded."

Ian nodded. "Who will I be fighting?"

"Me," a female's voice said behind him. As he turned to get a look of her, he felt a blunt force crack against his jaw. Off balanced, he stumbled away to get enough room to see her. Eyes widened, his jaw dropped with his heart.