The defenders looked toward Tsukiro, who was standing on the platform with Thalin beside him after finishing his speech. Everyone was ready for the beginning of the Tournament of Power.
Tsukiro raised his hand and shouted,
"Prepare yourselves, defenders!"
Everyone tensed, gripping their weapons and steadying their breathing as they waited for the signal.
Silence filled the area.
Then suddenly Tsukiro lowered his hand and shouted,
"Now!"
At that exact moment, Thalin snapped his fingers.
In an instant…
Everyone disappeared from the arena.
Jinsu suddenly found himself falling from the sky.
He looked around quickly and saw other defenders falling far away from him as well. Some of them had already landed and were jumping swiftly between the trees.
Jinsu looked down.
And suddenly—
A massive creature waited below him.
A Yami.
It was huge, with a single large eye staring directly at him. The monster opened its mouth wide, ready to swallow him the moment he landed.
"Huh?!"
Jinsu spun in midair.
Red energy gathered around his fist.
"Take this!"
He slammed his fist into the Yami's head.
BOOM!
The creature exploded instantly.
Jinsu landed on the ground and lay on his back, staring at the sky while raising his hand proudly.
"I've become stronger!"
Suddenly a familiar voice interrupted him.
"Have you gone crazy, Jinsu?"
Jinsu quickly sat up.
"Oh! Yuna! You found me!"
Yuna crossed her arms and glared at him.
"How could I not find you? You caused all that noise with that ridiculous attack."
Jinsu scratched the back of his head and smiled.
Yuna looked around at the destroyed area.
(Still… he really has become stronger. He killed that Yami with a single punch.)
Then she asked,
"Why didn't you take the Valiana Eye?"
Jinsu looked confused.
"Huh?"
Yuna sighed and rubbed her forehead.
"You're really an idiot."
"The Valiana Eye is your score in the tournament. Didn't you listen to the rules?"
Jinsu replied,
"I did listen… but I don't know how to take it."
Yuna sighed again.
"Follow me."
She walked deeper into the forest, and Jinsu followed her.
Soon they found another Yami nearby.
Yuna raised her hands.
A bone shield formed around one arm while a bone sword appeared in the other.
Jinsu watched with interest.
(This is a good chance to see how much stronger she has become.)
Yuna dashed forward.
The Yami fired a stream of fire toward her.
But she dodged it easily.
With a swift strike, she cut off the creature's arm.
The Yami screamed.
It tried to punch her with its other hand, but she dodged again.
Then she began slicing it rapidly.
Within seconds the monster was reduced to pieces.
Its body started dissolving into smoke.
Jinsu shouted,
"Woooow! That was amazing, Yuna!"
Yuna glanced at him calmly.
"Thanks… but there's no need to shout."
She then looked at her hand and clenched it.
"Still… I'm not strong enough yet to achieve my goal."
Jinsu remained silent.
Then Yuna turned to him.
"Watch carefully. This is how you take a Valiana Eye."
She raised her hand toward the remains of the Yami.
"Valiana Extraction."
A dark aura surrounded her hand.
Suddenly the remains of the monster turned into energy and were pulled toward her palm.
The energy gathered and formed an eye symbol on her hand.
Below it appeared the number:
1
She looked at Jinsu.
"See? That's how you do it."
Jinsu stared in amazement.
"Wow… that's really cool!"
Then he smiled.
"Thanks for showing me, Yuna."
Yuna looked toward the deeper parts of the forest.
"That's the least I can do."
Then she turned back to him.
"But now we should split up."
Jinsu nodded.
"Alright! Then you better win this, Yuna!"
He turned and prepared to run.
Yuna blinked.
"Huh? What—"
Before she could finish speaking…
Jinsu dashed away at incredible speed.
He vanished between the trees.
Yuna stared at the empty space he left behind.
"Was he always that fast?"
Jinsu ran quickly through the forest.
His eyes searched for another Yami.
Soon he spotted a dangerous scene.
A defender was being attacked by a high-level Yami.
The defender was lying on the ground, covered in blood.
He screamed in terror.
"Stay back, you disgusting monster!"
"Ahh! Stay away!"
"Please… someone save me!"
Just as the Yami lunged to kill him—
Jinsu appeared instantly.
He grabbed the monster's shoulder.
The creature turned toward him.
Jinsu smiled.
"Hello."
He threw a light punch at the Yami.
The creature didn't react at first.
It laughed in a strange voice.
But suddenly—
Its internal organs shattered.
Its eye began bleeding.
Jinsu grinned excitedly.
"Yes! Yes! It finally worked!"
The Yami jumped backward as its body began regenerating.
It looked at Jinsu carefully.
Then suddenly—
It grabbed the injured defender.
It placed the blade growing from its arm against the defender's neck.
Jinsu froze.
"Did you just take him hostage?"
He tilted his head slightly.
"Looks like you're a smart Yami."
Jinsu thought quickly.
(What do I do now…?)
(The defender is a hostage…)
(Wait… I've got it.)
He looked at the monster.
"Let him go if you want to live."
The Yami laughed.
It pressed the blade harder against the defender's neck.
The defender started crying.
"Please save me!"
"I don't want to die!"
Jinsu felt anger rising inside him.
He tried to think of a way to save the hostage without hurting him.
Then suddenly…
He calmed down.
And smiled.
The Yami sensed something strange.
Suddenly Jinsu rushed forward.
The Yami screamed threateningly as if it would kill the hostage.
But Jinsu jumped high into the air.
Then he slammed the ground beneath the Yami.
BOOM!
Dust exploded everywhere.
The Yami could no longer see anything.
In the next instant—
Jinsu appeared behind it.
He placed his finger against the monster's neck.
"It's over, Yami."
In a single motion—
The creature's head was severed.
Blood burst out violently.
The body collapsed and began dissolving.
The defender fell to the ground, breathing heavily.
He looked at Jinsu.
"Thank you for saving me, Jinsu."
Jinsu looked surprised.
"No need to thank me. It's my duty."
Then he asked,
"But… do you know me?"
The defender replied,
"Of course you wouldn't remember."
"I'm Yorlis."
Jinsu thought for a moment.
"Ah… Yorlis…"
He paused.
"Who's Yorlis?"
Yorlis shouted angrily.
"You idiot!"
"I was there when the Yami attacked your school!"
"And Master Thalin told me to keep an eye on you!"
"I'm also older than you in school, so show some respect!"
Jinsu looked at him carefully.
"Oh! You're the one who got beaten badly by the Yami back at school!"
Yorlis panicked.
"M-Me?! No! That must have been someone else!"
Then he quickly added,
"Anyway… thanks for saving me, Jinsu."
Jinsu laughed.
"Hahaha, it's fine."
He turned to leave.
"I'm going now. Don't die, Yorlis!"
Yorlis laughed weakly.
"You too, Jinsu!"
Jinsu looked at the remains of the Yami.
He raised his hand.
Dark energy gathered around it.
"Wow… so this is Valiana energy?"
The energy flowed into his palm.
An eye symbol appeared.
Below it was the number:
2
Jinsu smiled.
Then he ran deeper into the forest in search of more Yami.
But suddenly—
BANG!
A powerful attack struck him from nowhere.
Jinsu was thrown violently into the trees.
He crashed against them and fell to the ground.
He slowly stood up, struggling.
Then he raised his head and saw someone standing in front of him.
"What… what just happened?"