Capítulo 24: ~ The frost of time progresses with the tone - VI ~
Damn that Xi Ken for not telling me anything from before. I wasn't concerned with whether it was considered cheating or not. But this situation I was stuck in, looking all foolish, wouldn't have happened if I had known what to do since the beginning.
Sighing, I forgot everything and read the paper, looking up at the cleared path between me and the boulder.
I breathed in a big gulp of air and focused on chanting the word, but what I found peculiar was that just speaking the word wouldn't be exactly helpful, since how could it mark the boulder when the words flowed with no direction or goal.
So without much thought to it, I swung my hands to send out a wave of air forward towards the boulder, as if throwing a strike of air at it.
Nothing happened, but I was sure my method would work, and since no restriction was there to restrict the number of trials, I let my work begin with an unrestrained flow.
I chanted the spell aloud, as my own voice was heard throughout the silent arena, and waved my hand in front, feeling a soft gush of air rushing towards the target.
Again, nothing happened, but who was I to stop myself in the middle, thus I tried again and again, until a much larger and more powerful wave of air struck the boulder.
I watched as a very deep gash whipped the surface, and it made me happy, very happy to see that it was my own power which did it.
In a mood to congratulate myself I looked up at Xi Ken, assuming he would praise me or at least smile at me, but the man was frowning, not pleased at all.
My smile withered, my eyes drawing away from him and looking at the rest of the crowd, who actually managed to alarm me. Their gaping faces was so comical, I had to stop myself from chortling.
They appeared to be shocked, which was the opposite of how Xi Ken currently was.
Not knowing whether I should continue or not, I looked at the monk man who was calmer and more bearable to look at.
He did say I had to mark the boulder yet Xi Ken's frown was plaguing my mind, 'Had I not done a good job? What was I supposed to do? Should I had used less power?'
The monk took my silence as the end of the examination and opened his mouth to speak, yet Xi Ken made a sound, like clearing his throat, and everyone in the arena looked at him, wondering what he had to say.
"You should have broken the boulder in one go," his words were probably directed at me, and the limelight made me cold, since all eyes were on me again, this time with even more intensity, "why did you take so much time just to practice."
So this is the reason he looked so unhappy?
I rolled my eyes, "The respected man told me to mark the boulder, not break it. And how do you expect me to strike in one go when I had no practice before?"
Now the outburst of soft murmurs filled the crowd, everyone looked restless and even the rows of people sitting near Xi ken were flabbergast.
"I understand you, but your slow uptake was rather unpleasant to watch."
I glared at him, "Really? I wasn't aware."
Xi Ken breathed out a puff of air, as if mentally not prepared for my tantrum, "If you break the boulder I will let you travel with me."
He was being demanding in the middle of examination... I couldn't understand what was his take.
"Fine, you should have told me earlier, I would have broken it by now."
Many in the audience were not believing my claim, I could tell from the sudden mocking stances they presented, yet they also did not look very sure.
Ignoring everything, my pride at stake, I chanted again, my mind focused at a single target. I could feel the waft of air around me suppressing my bearing with a hint of energy I couldn't name. It was slight, but I could feel it.
My hand waved out a huge strike of air, as the word I spoke morphed into an attack.
I watched transfixed as the energy lashed out at the boulder with a loud explosion, producing a lot of dust which blasted out and lingered around the target for a while.
The air had now shifted to create wind in the arena, and I was sure something happened to the boulder, but the dust was slow to clear so a game of waiting began.
A few seconds passed, and finally the result was clear... I had broken the boulder, and not just cracked it in half, but turned it into dust, the reason why it took time for the dust to clear away.
A long silence filled the crowd until the one sitting next to Xi Ken whispered loudly, "What fine result!"
And a loud uproar resounded after, everyone who had been watching looked rather thunderstruck.
I wasn't sure what that meant, but looking at Xi Ken's soft smile, I counted it as a nod of approval and that made me happy.
~~
Later, right after the valets took me back to change, Xi Ken came to congratulate me on getting good result, the praise making me happy.
"So if I passed, tell me why everyone looked so stunned?"
"You impressed them."
I hummed, tinkering with the tip on my dress which I had changed back into, the blue stitching smooth under my touch. Although my attention was solely focused on Xi Ken, who stood beneath an archway that connected the outer edge of the arena with the lobby.
He looked beautiful, in the middle of delicate plant arrangement and carved pillars. His black robes appeared to be even more sinful.
I hurriedly looked away again, focusing on the wooden decking instead, waiting for Xi Ken to elaborate.
He got my message, as a tenderness lingered in his expression, even his voice suddenly sounded very amazed, "You did really good, nobody had managed to ever destroy an entire boulder before."
I coughed, "Can't be, what about you?"
"I am an ink master, we can't chant."
Right.
"Then how..." I wasn't really believing that I had done what others couldn't... it was unbelievable.
Xi Ken brought his fingers up to caress my neck, which I believe was to bring me back to reality where I had actually out shown a bunch of native folks. "Did you see the marks on the boulder earlier?"
I nodded, "Yes, there were many."
"The criteria for passing had always been to break the boulder with the chant you read," Xi Ken told, lost in thought, "but it was changed later on since nobody could pass the test, now after hundreds of years people only mark the boulder, and this has been a criteria everywhere."
"Then why did you ask me to break it?"
"Because you could." He stated simply and that left me baffled.
I blushed, "You seem to know my strength."
He smiled a bit, not fully, but it was still obvious, "You did good Raven... seems like the frost of time has been finally broken."
"Why is that?" I asked, feeling very dreamy, the whole thing felt unreal somehow.
"The arrival of a chanter who can break the boulder with a first level chant spell... will put the time into a shift, the public will be in an uproar... I wonder what will happen next."
It sounded exciting, but looking at Xi Ken, I felt as if I shouldn't be so happy to have brought a change.
Because the uncertain road ahead... made me anxious.
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