บท 5: Dojo Limitless
"Su Min! Su Min!"
A man in his late 50s shouted out as he stood in front of a grocer's shop. An embellished coat of paint seemed to have just been put on earlier as the sign hanged with the title - 'Yu's Grocers'. He went to every dark alley he could see but still found nothing. The concern in his voice grew and grew every time he found no one.
"Su Min you punk!"
The man didn't seem to care for the neighbours around him as dusk approached, and it was only until a few people who lived next door shoved him back into the shop did he stop shouting. Frowning, the man slumped into the staff room and glugged himself some alcohol.
"What does he expect to happen when he's that weak..."
As the man mumbled at himself with a pout, the door leading upstairs moved open until a gentle girl revealed herself with a timid gaze. Her eyes dwindled in the background for a while until she shyly asked.
"Uh, dad?"
"Wa-"
The man's back shivered and he nearly dropped the glass in his hand when he heard a voice that didn't announce itself. He turned around and looked at the small girl in a haste before sighing a breath of fresh air.
"Ah! You are going to give this poor man a heart attack if you keep scaring me like that, sweety."
The girl let out a mischievous smile as she hopped to him and asked him.
"Dad is that weird boy here?"
She continued to look around with a curious gaze, causing the man to frown even more. Guzzling another cup of alcohol, he spoke.
"He somehow got himself in trouble, ah..."
The man's voice became grave a she looked outside of the window, revelling in memory not too long ago. In fact, it was only a few days ago...
...
...
*COUGH* *COUGH*
A malnourished boy, under the relentless rain, coughed with a hoarse grunt as he sat in the corner of an alley. His eyes seemed to light up as he watched a muscular man pick up crates of food opposite him; standing on the side of a cracked pathway.
A shop stood behind the man, glistening with a new coat of paint, displaying the proud title 'Yu's Grocers'. The man was soaking wet as he grunted with annoyance. A girl, with a similar age to Su Min, opened the door as she laughed at the drenched man.
"Hehe! Dad, you look funny!"
The boy's eyes seemed to quiver at the sight, where melancholy seethed. Turning his head, he watched the pitter patter of rain sink into the drain near him...
His eyes seemed to be muddy; like death was looming above them. He was more like a man in his twilights then a young boy...
"Huh? Dad, someones over there!"
The girl's eyes glistened as she spotted an inconspicuous boy in an alley not too far away from them. It unknown whether it was fate or not, but, by such a sentence, Su Min's life changed...
*step Step STEP*
Su Min continued to sit on the rough concrete as looming steps approached him, revealing a girl and a man. The man had a rough appearance, with a stubbled chin and wrinkled lips.
"Dad, he looks weird..."
The girl's eyes widened as she stared at the inhuman figure in front of her, causing her to step back. The man in turn leaned down and took a closer look.
What he saw made him gasp...
"W-what? Quick! Bring him in!"
Like he saw someone dying, the man went and grabbed the boy with his rough hands. The boy gasped at the sudden movement, yet he was too weak to do anything...
Before he knew it, he was being dropped onto a table...
*SLAM*
"Quick, get me some water!"
The man had a worried look as he grabbed a cup of water, tilting into the boy's dried lips. The boy's face was white and his body didn't seem to contain muscle, outlined by the protruding bone.
*CO-COUGH*
Responding, the boy gagged as his seared throat got an undulation of water, making him cough. The man breathed a sigh of relief, but looking at the malnourished figure, he frowned.
"Dad, is he ill?"
A girl, tiptoeing to the table, glanced at the coughing boy who laid like a patient. It was like she was examining an Alien.
"Ah... Nevermind that, it's your bedtime, so go!"
"Aw..."
The man, even as he spoke, was rummaging around the storefront as he grabbed some fruits and vegetables. He even grabbed a blender.
Not giving the girl a chance to refute, the man gave her an angry stare, making her humph before marching into the staff only area.
"Nobody should ever experience stuff like this..."
*PSHEWWW*
The man grabbed the blender as he turned it on, blitzing fruit into a fine paste. He grabbed it and poured it into a cup, then proceeded to feed the boy...
...
...
...
"GODAMMIT!"
The book continued to float there, just above Su Min's malnourished head. It blew strange hums in the air which caused any of the wind to shudder until it dissipated. Su Min couldn't see this, though, as his head continued to be dragged by his torso on the muddy ground. He knew that trying to lift up his head would only be wasteful, and he didn't crave seeing whatever was in this torture chamber.
He felt the hums as his head hit the books crude surface, and with this, he gritted his teeth and using the last of his strength, swivelled his arm and threw it at the book.
'Go!!'
As his palm hit and compressed itself on the book, the expectant Su Min held his breath when the book shuffled a tad due to the force. However, what he expected was shattered as the world distorted and twisted in a surreal motion, making everything illusionary and vague.
The book vibrated with an intense shiver that pierced right into Su Min, and although nothing happened, before Su Min could even react, the trembling grew even more intense as he felt an extreme force pull him towards the entrance of the hut. The speed made him feel sick, yet before he could even start to have an idea of what was happening, his vision went pitch black and a sizzling impact followed.
*VSHOOM*
...
Behind the counter of a desolate shop, a boy lay with a weak breath and malnourished limbs. His face was covered in a thin layer of sweat whilst his expression was tensed and turned inwards. This was, of course, Su Min.
His eyelids opened slightly and after some time his tensed expression relaxed at a moderate degree. He found it strange that he could even move his face at this point but didn't bother to ponder about as he knew that he was alive!
He looked at the surrounding area and confirmed that Yu Yan was nowhere to be seen.
'I don't even know where he took her and even if I barge in he could just kill me. I daren't tell the old man for now as he may get himself in trouble...'
He attempted to get up and, to his surprise, he had the strength that allowed him to get up on his knees and stand. His weight was still dangerously below the human average, but it was incomparable to being just skin and bone.
Maybe it was due to that strange vibration from the book, but he felt a strange feeling exist in him, although it was still too faint for it to mean anything.
He saw the recommendation letter and another piece of paper wrapped next to it. He put the recommendation letter into his pocket, pondered until he went to read the piece of paper next to it.
-- 'I offer my sincere apologies, old man, but your little girl Yu Yan seemed to be unable to hold herself back and asked to become my disciple! Although that seemed a bit farfetched for me, I still offered a job of being my servant and she decided to take it. Unfortunately, I have a private matter that cannot be disturbed, so I'll have to trouble you to wait it over.
My condolences, Li Zhi.'--
Silence overran the shop as the piece of paper in Su Min's hand trembled. The finger holding it started to squeeze until even his arms shook due to an intense rage, shaking with an uncontrollable gait.
'You... Bastard!'
Su Min's facial expression could only be described as tragic when he confirmed his speculation. It was obvious that they just kidnapped her, because why would he lie like that?
The crumbling piece of paper was firmly shoved into Su Min's pocket after what seemed like an eternity of rage. It was through this rage that a thought invaded his mind. It was a thought that he would never want to go on, but by any stretch of the imagination, it was the only one that seemed to be able to give him a chance.
'To become a martial artist...'
There is a reason why he is so weak when he works in a grocer, or why he never tried to become strong enough to fend for himself. It was due to the one and only clear memory of his past. And all it was was a declaration to himself.
It stated, with a voice similar to his, that,
'For yourself, those who you cherish, those who they cherish and anyone enveloped in their karma, never step foot into the path of the strong. Be forever weak! Weak to anyone and everyone!'
It was a declaration that imprinted itself in his soul, and due to this, he didn't question the declaration as it felt like second nature to him. But how could he just do nothing? For the old man and for Yu Yan, he must repay what they have done for him all these years...
"Fuck it."
Su Min bit his lips as he went towards a crate, grabbed it, shoved various foods into it and threw some loose change onto the counter.
...
"Strange..."
Sitting in a rundown apartment, the ruddy expression of a youth displayed himself behind a crate of half-eaten goods. His body was visibly fatter and looked nearly normal, and on his lap lay an ancient book with the title 'The Martial Book'.
When he got to the apartment, the book was still on the floor where he left it. It confused him greatly, because how could the book have been in that strange space in the shop as well?
Considering this, this supposed book won't open, as no matter how much he tried it just wouldn't budge.
"Hm... What'ya know, it's durable."
If he couldn't open it now then all he'd do is wait till he could. Because how could a normal book appear in the hellish space he couldn't even explain?
Su Min sighed as he picked the book up, held it across his waist and went outside.
'Quite convenient for this 'Limitless Dojo' place to hold a tournament to take in disciples...'
There were apparently many smaller tournaments held all over the place, and for him, the nearest was about an hours walk away. He only knew this from the news channel, of course.
...
In a sprawling square, numerous people in all ages and sizes spread themselves out to form a dense crowd. A youth looked at 4 piercing spiralling pillars made of aged stone. They each had a blank scroll hanging from them, and connected to these 4 pillars was an arena the size of an averagely sized basketball court.
The youth held a number plate, saying.
"93?"
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