After breakfast was cleared and the kitchen was cleaned, Ayron watched the tavern owner set five cups on the table, filling each of them with water. “What’s going on?” The young man inquired, his brow raising in curiosity.

  “Before we spar, I want to do a little test to see if you have access to Enki.”

  “Enki?” Ayron’s features twisted into a perplexed look. It sounded like magic. “What’s that?”

  Kaysi began explaining the concept. From his words, Ayron could tell he’s told this speech countless times. “Ki and Enki share a relationship akin to magma and lava. Ki is the term used to describe your life force while it rests within your body. The moment it is emitted away or used as an external extension, it becomes a powerful force known as enki. Five techniques can be accessed: enhancement, emission, conjuration, manipulation, and transmutation. A sixth category is reserved for the special few, the ones who don’t access one of the five traditional techniques. These beings are known as ‘outliers’ in Raider’s Tower.” The older man gestured to the cups sitting on the bar top. “Before Raider’s Tower and their ‘prism exam’, warriors found out which techniques they’ve accessed using this simple test. The aura divination exam has been around since the beginning. Early texts referred to it as a necessary exam for warriors.”

  The tavern owner placed a toothpick inside each of the glasses filled with water. “Each enki technique wields a different result; water overflowing from the cup, a change in color or taste, movement of the toothpick, impurities added to the cup, or something else altogether.”

  Ayron looked at the cup in front of him, his mind reminiscent of his time in Haamu, his birthplace. Those who were strong enough to wield enki, what they called magic, were seen as dark forces. It was shunned through all parts of the shadow realm, therefore forbidden to practice. Ayron’s always been shunned for how different he was. Looking at his own hands, the young man started to ponder.

  “Can we do it too?” Jak inquired.

  “That’s why I brought extra cups.” Kaysi grinned. “One for each of you.”

  The group of young adults sat across from Kaysi, who was about to give a demonstration. “The test is simple: Place your hands around the cup, without touching it. Allow your life energy, or ki, to change the contents of the vessel. If your aura nodes are locked, no reaction will occur.”

  Ayron focused intently as the older man cupped his hands around the container, noting a faint grey projection emanating from his hands and touching the cup. What followed was a precise chain of events, like a controlled experiment. Ripples spread through the water, causing the toothpick to drop. The water then began to spill over, and the color shifted to a dark green, with several visible particles settling at the bottom. With each of the four visible reactions, the ripples, the overflow, the color change, and the particles, Kaysi's hands briefly glowed a different hue: red, yellow, blue, green, and purple. Despite only four physical changes, Ayron counted five distinct colors.

  “Whoa!” Jaysi ran to get a towel to clean up the water.

  The foreigner was intimately familiar with this phenomenon: the spontaneous, unmistakable visibility of someone's ki color. It was a secret he'd carried since childhood, his own unconventional method of reading a room, a person's intent, or their state of being. The vibrant or muted hues radiating from others typically occurred during moments of intense emotional or physical stress: fear, rage, profound focus, or crippling pain. It had been his first, and for a long time, his only, true secret weapon in the shadows of his former life, a past he refused to disclose.

  Now, traversing this baffling new world, Ayron noticed that most individuals he encountered radiated some form of colored energy, a luminous aura that spoke volumes without a single word being uttered. Some individuals were bathed in a steady, monochrome hue. Others radiated a complex, swirling display; some with two, three, or even more distinct colors. These multiple auras suggested intricate layers of personality, conflicting emotions, or perhaps a higher degree of magical aptitude or unique power.

  It was like reading a spectrum of souls, and it was a language he was rapidly trying to master, knowing his survival in this strange land might depend on interpreting the silent, colorful screams of the world around him.

  “Now, it’s your turn.” Kaysi gestured to the four young adults across the table, pulling Ayron from his thoughts. He didn’t realize Jaysi returned.

  “Jak and Jaysi ask to do this test once a month. It’s easier than requesting a re-evaluation from the guild.” The instructor gestured to the cups, wanting them to begin.

  The foreigner decided to watch the other three. He observed their hands, trying to see the same phenomena he witnessed moments ago with Kaysi. However, no such thing happened.

  “Damnit!” Jak groaned as his brows furrowed in concentration.

  “I guess I’ll just have to train harder,” Jaysi’s bottom lip jutted out slightly as she pouted. “I thought I would get it this time.”

  “Nothing? Damn,” Nikai sighed, but his expression conveyed he already knew it would be a dud.

  Ayron looked at the cup on the table, placing his hands around it. “Any tips?”

  “Concentrate on your ki, focus on sending it to your hands and to the vessel,” Kaysi instructed.

  The young man nodded, squinting his eyes to aid in his focus. It took a few moments, but eventually Ayron felt something, which he perceived to be ki, and attempted to use his ki to touch the bowl. The hue was pure white, devoid of all color. A loud crash caused Ayron to jump suddenly, looking at a shattered glass on the floor. The cup was repelled off the table with great force. “Oh shit, my bad.”

  Everyone in the tavern was too stunned to move.

  “I’ve never seen that reaction before,” Kaysi commented under his breath before he walked back to the kitchen, grabbing a broom, dustpan, and a second towel to clean the mess.

  “What does it mean?” Ayron questioned once he came back into the room, looking to the older man for answers.

  “My best guess?” Kaysi blew a raspberry while he contemplated. “Either you smacked it with your thumbs without us seeing it, or your aura repelled the cup entirely, indicating you’re an outlier.”

  This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

  Ayron let out a small sigh; he’s felt like an outlier in his daily life since he could remember. This test was only another small confirmation to him that he didn’t fit in with the rest of society. However, it was also a small token of relief. If he actually possessed supernatural abilities, then perhaps he could make changes in the world for the better.

  “Now I’m even more interested in sparring,” Kaysi commented as he took the broken cup and supplies to the back.

  “Head to the park, I’ll meet you, kids there.”

  “And with that, I'll happily bow out of the first match of the morning.” Nikai chuckled, still perplexed by the divination exam.

  The group walked across the street to the large park. Benches were scattered across the space, following the gravel pathway. To the left was a jungle gym for children. Towards the back of the park, there was a group of elderly individuals practicing what Ayron presumed to be ChiTai, an ancient art based on movement, breathing, and meditation. The motions allowed aura to flow around a person seamlessly, while the meditation and breathing helped concentrate the life force, or ki, inside of them. Ayron’s witnessed elders in the village practice it as a way to stay young, in their words.

  Ayron began to stretch, bending his knees towards his chest, doing a few squats, and bending over and touching the ground with his palms. The young man continued to be surprised at how well his new knee was holding up. This stretch reassured him that he could stand up in a one-on-one battle. He observed the surprised looks on the crew’s faces. “What? If I don’t stretch properly, I’ll regret it later.”

  “I wish I were that limber,” Nikai chuckled.

  “Stretching does the body good!” Kaysi hollered as he crossed the street, stretching his own arms as he did so. “You ready to do this?”

  “As I’ll ever be,” Ayron commented with an enthusiastic smile. “Parameters? I’d like to know where I can bend the rules.”

  Kaysi chuckled. “We’ll use Raider’s Tower rules to get you acquainted. First to ten points wins; regular strikes count as one, critical strikes are worth three points, and knock-outs are worth anywhere from seven to ten points, depending on whether you can get back up. Strikes are considered any hit that isn’t blocked. Sounds good?”

  “Good for me.” Ayron nodded, a faint smirk playing on his lips. He adopted his normal, grounded fighting stance; a low center of gravity, hands loose and ready, narrowed eyes meticulously observing his instructor, Kaysi, searching for any vulnerability, any momentary lapse in his posture. Ayron’s analytical mind, honed over years, immediately recognized that Kaysi’s stance was frustratingly perfect, nearly an iron-clad defense with no obvious tells. Despite this, the foreigner pressed his scrutiny.

  Without warning, before Ayron could pick apart a single flaw, the older man launched himself into action with a fluid, powerful burst of speed. The young man reacted instantly, his defensive training taking over. He met every jab, every chop, and every kick with a counter-block or a timely evasion, his movements crisp and effortless. His unique "sixth-sense" was humming, giving him a fraction of a second's foresight. It wasn't foolproof; he couldn't see the future, but the ability to subtly predict his opponent’s shifts in weight and muscle tension proved invaluable, helping him nullify sticky situations before they got out of hand.

  Kaysi landed a powerful, controlled back kick, which Ayron sidestepped by a hair. They could hear the crowd of three audibly gasp. The instructor pulled his leg back, a genuine, appreciative grin lighting up his face. “I see your knee hasn’t hampered your reflexes, kid. Good.” The words were an acknowledgment of Ayron's complete recovery from a recent injury, a subtle sign of respect in their warrior’s language.

  The foreigner felt adrenaline pumping through his veins, a familiar, exhilarating rush that sharpened his senses and enhanced his focus. This state of heightened awareness allowed him to perceive the subtle, unseen energies around him. Much like the baffling and terrifying incident in the tavern this morning, Ayron was able to see the faint hues of his instructor's ki flowing.

  The colors were dynamic, shifting and intensifying with each movement and intent in the spar. A deep, calming blue pulsed through Kaysi’s core as he maintained his defensive stance, momentarily flaring into a vivid, aggressive crimson that streaked out towards Ayron in a powerful, measured kick. Each color seemed to be used at a different, precise moment in the spar; a kinetic, vibrant language Ayron was only just beginning to learn. The young man wanted desperately to ponder what the colors represented, to analyze the spectrum and link it to the corresponding techniques, but his seasoned and relentless opponent was occupying every scrap of his mental capacity.

  As if Kaysi sensed Ayron’s analytical lapse, a small, predatory smile crossed his lips. "I think it’s time to kick it up a notch," he announced, his voice carrying an undertone of a playful challenge.

  With a flourish, Kaysi opened his hand, not retrieving anything from his robes, but rather willing it into existence. In a flash of shimmering, concentrated energy, a bright, menacing red staff appeared instantly in his grip. It seemed to hum with the energy of the world, radiating the same crimson hue Ayron had just seen accompanying Kaysi's most powerful strikes.

  “Oh no, he’s brought out the ‘bonk stick, ’” Jak commented dramatically from the sidelines, looking at his friend Nikai.

  Ayron noticed Jaysi wince visibly at the sight of the weapon, a silent acknowledgment of the pain it was capable of inflicting, even in a spar. The instructor’s tool was clearly a game-changer.

  Ayron’s full attention snapped back to his opponent. He watched, captivated, as his instructor began spinning the long staff in his hands effortlessly. The red blur of the weapon created a hypnotic shield around Kaysi. It was a display of mastery that was both beautiful and terrifying, signaling the end of the polite warm-up phase. The very air around Kaysi seemed to crackle as the spinning staff cut through it, its humming sound intensifying with each revolution.

  The two combatants continued their intricate dance of combat, but the tempo had violently accelerated. They were now a blur of motion: calculated feints to draw a mistake, bone-jarringly powerful kicks aimed at disrupting balance, and lightning-fast punches that were now deflected not by Kaysi's hands, but by the rapidly moving barrier of the bonk stick.

  Initially, their movements had been measured, almost formal; a controlled warm-up meant for instruction. Now, the intent was raw, the pressure relentless. Ayron was forced to stop thinking and rely purely on his instincts, moving on sheer reflex to avoid the sweeping arcs and sudden thrusts of the scarlet weapon. The sparring partner he had faced moments ago was gone, replaced by a whirlwind of focused ki and lethal, controlled motion.

  As their internal fires ignited and they settled into the familiar rhythm of the spar, their speed escalated to superhuman levels. The air around them grew heavy, then began to move. Soon, the sheer velocity of their limbs cutting through the air created their own localized wind current. Dust motes and fallen leaves swirled violently around their feet, and the sharp whoosh of displaced air punctuated the muted thud of blocked strikes.

  Their intense activity didn't go unnoticed. On the ChiTai member’s corner of the park, several members paused their own exercises to watch the spectacle unfold. They recognized the intensity and the high caliber of the exchange.

  As Ayron sidestepped the sweeping staff that would have taken his head off, Jak’s voice cut through the wind, laced with a familiar mix of caution and amusement. “Careful, guys! We don’t want to destroy the park!”

  The two fighters leaped back, turning their attention to the spectators. "Was anyone keeping score?" Ayron asked, breathing heavily.

  Jak's shock deepened. "We couldn't keep up!"

  "You'd need a tower ref to track that spar!" Nikai laughed. "That was incredible!"

  Kaysi chuckled as the enki staff vanished from his hand. "Well, I'd say you're more than ready. Shall we go?"

  Ayron grinned, gesturing toward the park exit. "Lead the way."