Academic District
"Forbidden Martial School?"
"By the name I thought it would be... not run down." Finn muttered as he stared at the rotten wooden board in front of him.
The entrance to the school was hidden behind an alley and was covered in holes. He could see the courtyard inside that was filled with dead grass and broken straw puppets.
This was the martial art school that Hekil had recommended. Finn had to do a double take before he realized that this was it.
"Hello?"
Finn's voice echoed through the alley, but after waiting for ten minutes, no one came.
"Is this place really abandoned?" Finn's eyebrows scrunched up as he felt nervous.
What was he supposed to do now? Could he join other martial arts schools?
He had passed by a couple on the way here, and they seemed a lot more put together and maintained.
As Finn weighed his options, he heard a rough groan coming from a pile of trash. As he stared at the piles upon piles of bottles and banana peels, he saw a fat man crawl out. His gray hair was a mess covered in trash water. His face and body were filled with bruises and bumps from swelling, and his clothes were in tatters.
"Cough! Cough! Young man, help me!"
Finn was flabbergasted by this. This guy looked in worse condition than anyone he had ever seen in his life.
Finn couldn't help but wonder what the hell happened to this poor old man.
"How can I help you, sir?" Finn asked as he stopped short of getting too close.
The smell of getting any closer would make him vomit.
"Debt collectors beat me up and threatened to kill my entire family next. If you could spare just a single coin, I would be grateful!"
"Sorry, sir. I have no money." Finn said with an apologic smile.
He had some money from the modern world, but that was useless here. He was able to get into the city with the few copper coins Hekil had given him.
He didn't have anything left but a letter he was supposed to use to become a disciple at the Forbidden Martial School.
"Nonsense! If you didn't have money, why would you be in the Academic District! Kids these days don't respect their elders." The trash man grumbled angrily.
He picked up a rotting banana peel from the pile of trash and threw it at Finn, who quickly dodged.
"Sir! I really don't have a single cent on me. I'm here because I got a recommendation letter to join Forbidden Martial School, but it looks like it's been abandoned." Finn explained before sighing.
""Recommendation letter? Forbidden Martial School had been closed for years, as you can clearly see." The trash man scoffed and picked up another piece of trash. This time, it was a glass bottle.
"Wait, calm down! I'm not lying. Damn, I really got a letter from a traveling merchant named Hekil. He said "Forbidden Martial School was made by his uncle."
Finn quickly retreated as he prepared himself to dodge from a flying bottle.
But it never came.
"Hekil? That makes sense he wouldn't know that the school closed down." The trash man muttered as he put down the glass bottle.
He stared at Finn with his gray eyes to get a better look.
"Are you from the lost continent?"
"Maybe?"
"Yeah, that makes sense. Hekil would carry my brother's obsession." The trash man sighed and shook his head with disapproval.
"Show me the letter."
Finn wasn't a dull man. He guessed that this elderly homeless man was Hekil's uncle the moment he asked about the lost continent.
Finn took out the letter from the pouch and threw it towards the trash man.
"This really is our family seal."
After opening the letter, the trash man's face looked like he had eaten a pile of dog poop.
He squished the letter and tore it apart angrily.
"Outrageous! He actually abandoned Hekil to search for the lost continent! He really is following dad's path to self-destruction!" Cursing under his breath, the trash man's eyes watered.
He wiped his eyes with the small piece of his clothes that was still clean before turning to Finn.
"This letter should have been for me to teach my nephew, but since he made his decision to hand it to you, I'll accept you as an external disciple."
"Thank you!" Finn yelled with relief before bowing down.
Hekil's uncle shook his head, "Don't bother. I'm not your official master. I'll just teach you the basics and a few martial arts. If you can't even learn this, don't even think about calling me master or teacher."
"Understood, but I'm grateful nonetheless. Umm, when can we get started." Finn asked as he started getting nauseous from the smell of trash.
"Help me up and take me inside first." Hekil's uncle said before explaining himself.
"My legs are broken. I wasn't lying. I really was beaten up. You think I like living in trash."
"Ah, yeah, that makes sense." Finn nodded and took a deep breath before helping Hekil's uncle out of the piles of garbage.
When he couldn't hold his breath any longer, the smell coming from Hekil's Uncle's body nearly made him vomit on the spot.
Luckily, he managed to hold it in long enough that they made it inside.
After finding a chair to put Hekil's uncle on, Finn took a dozen steps back before squatting down and spilling his guts on the dead grass.
"First lesson, martial arts isn't easy, nor is it safe. Any techniques that promise such things are only illusions. As such, my philosophy follows that thought. Since every martial art is dangerous, the most dangerous must be the most true martial arts."
"The most dangerous martial arts are considered forbidden, which is why I created the Forbidden Martial School."
"The second lesson is the most important, so listen carefully."
Finn paused from his vomit session to listen closely.
Hekil's uncle raised his two fingers and said in a grave tone, "My name is Xanda Schwartz. Make sure to remember it."
"Okay, Xanda Schwartz. I got it."
Schwartz? That's the first time I heard a name that sounds directly from Earth. Finn thought to himself as he burned the name into his brain.
"You got it." Hekil's uncle smiled for the first time since they met. He nodded his head with approval. His impression of Finn jumped a few levels.
"Names are really important for any martial artist. I don't know if you are planning on returning back to the lost continent, but if you do...remembering names properly is going to be important."
Xanda raised a third finger, "Thirdly, practicing martial arts is pointless without qi. So, we need to make sure you have suitable spirit meridians."
"How do we test that?" Finn asked as he rubbed his empty stomach. He was still nauseous, but after vomiting, he felt much better.
"It's simple. Just take off all your clothes."