Chapter 6: Forming a Group
A few months had passed since they joined BHA. Everyday they came to learn more, expand their horizons in terms of Magic-Channelling, and also to better themselves in every possible way as Adepts. By this time, Hun-cheol and Namjoon were now very close, having worked, learned and grown together for this long. They had also found many different ways to implement and apply their powers. New ways to fuse their energies to create powerful attacks. They had also destroyed quite a lot of the Academy's facilities, so they weren't allowed to experiment indoors.
Namjoon in particuliar had a bad habit of breaking anything he was using. The staff had asked them repeatedly to do anything and everything away from things they could break. And even from things they couldn't break, just in case.
Hitman Bang would guide and teach them when he could, but for the most part he let them try things themselves. He wanted them to discover their own path instead of him telling them what to do. He didn't want them to be overly controlled and restricted like Eidos. Of course there were rules in place, but he believed that they would grow more and become more powerful if they develop in their own way.
But although he felt that they were both growing a lot, he also felt that they were being restricted. The fact that there were only two of them made things difficult as they had to take on all the workload by themselves. Also they only had the two of them to bounce ideas off of and to grow from. This would restrict their path a lot if this was where they began their journey. They needed more avenues for input.
Hitman Bang pondered this for a while before calling the two boys to his office. Hun-cheol and Namjoon walked in quite happily.
"That last attack you threw caught me off guard, how long have you been hiding that?"
Namjoon chuckled in response.
"I only thought of it recently, hyung. I was just testing it out. I didn't think it would actually be that effective."
"Full of surprises as usual." Hun-cheol laughed back.
Hun-cheol looked over and saw Hitman Bang with a serious face on and instantly changed his demeanor.
"Pd-nim, you called for us? Is something wrong?"
Hitman gestured for the two boys to sit down. As Namjoon closed the door behind him, there was a strange sound. Hitman Bang looked at Namjoon, and Hun-cheol turned around to see what had happened. Namjoon slowly turned around to face them embarrassed. In his hand was the door handle.
Hitman Bang put his face into his palm. Hun-cheol couldn't help but snigger. He tried his best to hold it in but just started laughing anyway.
"And he strikes again haha."
Namjoon silently put the handle on a table and then went to sit down. Iron sat down too, still giggling at Namjoon. Hitman Bang looked up at the two and, seeing his face, they went silent.
"You two have been with us for a while now. You have both grown a lot in the areas of Magic-Channelling, Word Smithing and Rune Scribing. You both have been slowly discovering your path in terms of how to develop and grow your Magic. However, I feel that you are limited in what you can do currently. So I want to change a few things."
At this, Hun-cheol stood up.
"Are you changing us to an Eidos team?"
Namjoon then stood up as well.
"I don't want to be an Eidos. I thought we were going to become Renegade Adepts. Is that not the case anymore? Or....Or are you getting rid of us?"
Hun-cheol looked at Namjoon and the shock and potential anger was reflected in both of their faces. Hitman Bang laughed at the two of them.
"Stop jumping to conclusions, both of you sit down. I'm not changing things in that sense. I actually wanted to bring a proposal to the two of you. Although the two of you are powerful and your abilities do compliment each other, I still don't feel it is enough."
Hun-cheol cut in again at this point.
"We will train harder. We will become powerful enough to overcome any opponents."
"I know you both will. But you are currently restricted by yourselves. There is only so much challenge the two of you can give each other. To properly grow more, you will need more people to challenge and sharpen each other."
Shock covered the two boys face as realization hit them. Namjoon spoke up.
"You don't want to develop us as a duo anymore, but a group?"
"Correct. That is the proposal I wanted to bring to the two of you. I have an idea of how you both can grow as Adepts, but it will need others with similar potential beside you two. What do you think?"
Hun-cheol and Namjoon looked at each other. They had trained together and had grown close so they had a good read on how each other was thinking and feeling. Namjoon gave Hun-cheol a look which he responded with a nod as he looked at Hitman Bang.
"You have treated us well Pd-nim. We know that you want us to grow. So we will trust you in this."
Hitman Bang was pleasantly surprised. He didn't expect them to agree so easily. Namjoon then spoke up again.
"How are you planning on finding others to join us?'
Hitman Bang smiled.
"There are a few methods we will use, some are already in place as we speak. But there's one way in particular that I want to try."
Hitman Bang stood up and walked over to the window.
"I'm going to hold a competition of sorts. Allow Magic-Channellers, Spirit Callers and Battle Mages to display their power. Those that make the cut will be accepted into the Academy. And then they will train alongside you and you will all fight, grow and become more powerful in the hopes of joining the final team."
Hun-cheol nodded and smiled. He liked this idea. Namjoon, however, paused. He noticed something about how Hitman Bang phrased his words.
"You said 'you all' will fight in the hopes of joining the final team. Meaning that we are in the same situation as them and aren't guarenteed a spot in the final team. That we would have to fight too."
Hun-cheol's smile instantly vanished. They would have to fight to be a part of the team?
Hitman Bang smirked.
"I thought you would pick up on it. Yes, although you are in the team now, you can be replaced if there is someone better suited. This is also to help strengthen you. If you can not keep up, then you will be left behind. But this should push you both to become stronger, more powerful so your position is not under threat of being taken."
Hun-cheol looked at Namjoon. There was a fire both of their eyes. This was the kind of challenge they needed to grow further. And they would both grab this opportunity with both hands. They smirked at each other and nodded. Iron turned to Hitman Bang.
"Sounds like fun. Count us in."
Hitman Bang smiled.
"Good, the tournament will be occurring soon, you both can watch and observe, which I would advise you to do. In fact, it is already in the latter stages of its preparations and promotions."
Hitman Bang stood up and walked over to a piece of rolled up paper by the window and brought it over. He unfurled it and placed it in front of the two boys. It had an image of a Magic-Channeller, a Battle Mage and a Spirit Caller. Over the top were the BHA emblem and a few words.
"Big Hit Academy presents: The Hit It Tournament."
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