Boom, boom, boom…Jon retaliated by sending balls of energy toward the troupe leader. He easily dodged them. Just before his opponent swung his mace, Jon launched another attack. "Seed explosion!"Boom!A supersonic sound wave collided with the seeds. "Deafening Silence!"Suddenly, Jon could not hear any sound."What is happening?" he felt afraid. "Have I turned deaf?"Jon saw the troupe leader holding his mace to his side and running toward him. "Sound or no sound the fight has to go on," Jon told himself. He opened his mouth to utter the name of his next attack but he could not hear anything. "Have I become mute too?" his heart palpitated. Moments after, he saw wooden stakes shoot up from the ground. The troupe leader's mouth moved. "What is he doing now?" Jon was disoriented. The next moment, Jon was thrust backward.He hit the ring's barrier and fell to the ground. When he saw the jury's mouth move, he scrambled to regain his footing. "I cannot rely on my hearing now,
Clang!Jon generated a shield to protect himself from being hurt by the mace.Thud!The troupe leader appeared in front of him. Boom, boom, boom…Disco balls crashed into Jon's green shield and it vibrated. Jon struggled to upkeep his shield. "Astro Fury!" Green balls of fire crashed into the disco balls. Boom, boom, boom…One of them hit the troupe leader from behind. Thud!He fell flat on his face. Shing!Jon quickly unsheathed his sword. Just as his sword was about to hit the troupe leader, his opponent reached out his hand and grabbed Jon's ankle. Thud! Jon fell on his back. He quickly aimed a kick at the troupe leader's head.However, his opponent rolled away and stood up, dodging the blow. Clang!The troupe leader's mace collided with Jon's sword. Still on the ground, Jon aimed another a kick at his opponent's abdomen.Pfft!The troupe leader spat blood while he landed on his bottom. Jon rushed to get on his feet. Shing!His sword was directly next to the troupe le
Boom, boom, boom…Each of the energy beams targeted vital areas of the troupe leader's body. He counteracted them with sound beams but could not shake them off. Boom!The green energy beams collided and created a massive explosion. Since smoke filled the air, Jon could not see where his opponent went. Bang!Jon crashed onto the ground.The earbud in his ear dropped out. "That pitiful attack of yours is nothing to me," the troupe leader said while looking down at Jon and walking toward him. One… Two…Jon stirred and rolled to his side. The troupe leader placed a foot on Jon to ensure he could not get up."This is the end of the match," the troupe leader spoke harshly. "Admit it!" "Why did Master Hui pass me the earbuds?" Jon wondered to himself when he saw the earbud on the floor. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, "Could it be that the earbuds are not for me?"Boom!Recharged by a sliver of hope, Jon shot ninja stars at the troupe leader. Thud!The leader flew a distance in the air t
"Hey, I scored 95.5 out of 100 marks for this week's test. How many marks did you get?" a student nosily inquired."96," his friend smugly replied. "I heard the lowest is 27.""It must be Jon again. What a loser," Jon's classmate sneered at him. "He cannot do anything right," another shook his head. "He is so pathetic," a friend who had been close to him now dissed him. Jon usually barely passed and even miserably failed some of his school's tests. His classmates could not understand why he was performing so poorly in school. However, Jon did not pay any attention to their snide remarks. Although he had difficulty understanding what his teachers taught during class, he did not give up. He always clarified any questions he had and practiced whenever he was free. Now, however, he had less time to do that since his father was ill.Ring, ring, ring…"School is over. I need to forage for herbs in the forest," Jon thought to himself as he packed his desk and headed out of his classroom
Jon was shocked when he turned to shoot the dragon, "It is only a baby!" He had thought it was a full-grown dragon. Heartened by the turn of events, he mustered his energy and shot it at the beast, but the baby dragon managed to dodge the small green ball.Undaunted, Jon shot a series of balls at the baby dragon and one of them hit it. "Score!" Jon gleefully shouted as the baby dragon prepared to blow fire from its mouth. He spoke too soon. The fire singed the tips of his spiky hair while he ducked. "Oh well," he comforted himself. "It could pass as an ombre look."Jon then combined a few energy balls to form a large one and aimed it at the beast. The baby dragon took it head-on with a torrent of flames. While the energy ball dissipated, the baby dragon pounced on Jon. Jon quickly retrieved his side pocket dagger to defend himself against the baby dragon's sharp and nimble claws. However, the dulled dagger had no effect on the baby dragon's thick red scales. Knowing that hand-
One year ago…Cough, cough, cough…"Husband, are you alright?" Jon's mother looked worried. "You have been coughing for weeks and it is getting worse each day.""I am fine," Jon's father replied. "It is just a cough. I will get better soon.""I think you should take a break from work to rest," Jon's mother advised. Jon's father shook his head, "My company needs me. I will be fine." The next day, however, he could not get out of bed."What is wrong husband?" Jon's mother was frightened. "You were still up and about yesterday."His entire face was pale and he could not speak. Jon's mother immediately requested for a doctor to visit their home. When the doctor arrived and examined Jon's father, he frowned. "I am sorry but I am not able to treat Master Ye," the doctor shook his head. "Please find another doctor.""But you are the best doctor in the town," Jon's mother cried. "If you cannot treat him, who can?"When Jon heard the news related to his father, he was determined to find a c
"The gang is here," a few students whispered as the school's most influential students walked into the classroom for Jon's first lesson of the day.Although Jon had been from a powerful family, he was never a part of that gang. He did not like the way they treated the students who were not part of their group. Members of the gang would get close to students they deemed useful and ditch them once they were no longer of value. He also heard rumors that the people in the group would manipulate and backstab each other to gain the upper hand.The group's dynamics was the epitome of survival of the fittest. "Hey pipsqueak," Raphael, the gang's leader, rudely called. "I want to sit here today."The student immediately packed her items and moved away. Jon sighed and rolled his eyes. He always wondered how those people managed to gain the respect of other students in school. However, he did not like to trouble himself with affairs related to them. He preferred to concentrate on what was i
"Who are you talking to Mel?" Raphael crossed his arms and sized up Jon. "I did not give you permission to call me that," she sharply replied.In a bid to alleviate the tension, Jon cleared his voice and said, "She is my best friend." Little did Jon know that he added fuel to the flames. "I am not talking to you," Raphael snapped at Jon. "Keep your mouth shut."Raphael then turned to Melissa and frowned, "Why are you friends with a nobody like him?"Melissa glared at him and defended Jon, "He is not a nobody. He is my best friend. Class is starting soon. Come on Jon, we need to go."Jon and Melissa walked to their next class. Raphael glared at Jon from behind. He was determined to gain Melissa on his side and was not going to give up on her that easily. ---Their next class is combat training. In this lesson, Master Li, their combat trainer, demonstrated basic Tai Chi attack techniques. "Tai Chi focuses on speed and balance," Master Li instructed. "Remember that when sparring."T