“Don’t you dare try to escape!” A hoarse, manly voice roared from an elevated platform.

A man wearing basic trousers and a normal tunic had screamed with aggression. He was slightly older, and had a buzzed haircut.

“Yes, Captain Steel!” Hundreds of Hunters below the man screamed–all standing on a dirt floor which had been hardened over years of training.

Above them, a meteor flew down with immense force.

All of the Hunters had their hands raised to the sky, their Aura Abilities unleashed to try to stop the attack.

The meteor crashed into the pile of Ancestral Abilities. Some had the power of grass blades, others had the power to increase their arms and legs in size, others were using quick flying projectiles.

The meteor slowed in its descent, but it was still pushing through the attack.

Everyone exclaimed with struggle, forcing their bodies to the extent to unleash as much power as possible.

“Argh!”

“Don’t give up!”

“We are close this time!”

“A few more seconds!”

Captain Steel’s smile was broad as he watched over the crowd attempting to guard the meteor.

“Hmph… they’ve gotten a lot stronger…” He saw the struggle of the Hunters, unable to help but commend them.

“However…”

The meteor began to press down with even more force, breaking through the barriers that the Hunters had put up.

“It still isn’t quite enough.” Steel exclaimed.

As the meteor came 5 feet from crashing into the Hunters, a certain figure dashed through the crowd like a quick shadow.

Steel’s eyes widened, “Oh? He actually showed up today… that brat usually just disappears for days, trying to perfect his power, before coming back and overcoming whatever he had failed to defeat in the days prior. I wouldn’t recommend that style of training, but I don’t think he’s one I can tame so easily.”

A certain blue-skinned, tall moosh leaped up from out of the crowd.

A bright smile stretched across the moosh’s face as other Hunters noticed him.

“It’s Malon!” A Hunter exclaimed, his lips playing to a smile as his eyes lit up with hope.

“He’s here this time!”

“Push!”

“We’re saved!”

Malon pushed his arm into the air, “Come on! Battalion!” As he shouted, the shield on his arm exploded in size.

It turned into a massive aegis that was the size of a king-sized bed, slamming against the meteor with force.

At first, the meteor pushed down on Malon, bending his arm and thrusting his own shield into him.

However, Malon continued to smirk through it all, pressing forward one more time with both hands.

All of the force of the meteor was instantly absorbed and hurled back.

With a massive blast, the meteor exploded into a thousand pieces of stone that were propelled thousands of feet into the air–piercing through several clouds before disappearing.

Other pieces fell down around the ground, Malon dropping to the floor with a proud grin on his face.

“Whohoo!”

“You did it!”

“Great work!”

The other Hunters gathered around him, commending him as Malon scratched his top lip with the back of his pointer finger, his eyes closed and a slightly embarrassed look on him.

Steel chuckled as he saw this, ‘Who the hell created such a monster… his potential outshines almost any Hunter I have ever trained… I should be thankful for that Dragon Tamer… without him, this mushroom would have never been under my guise.’

“Malon!” The captain yelled, quickly getting the moosh’s attention.

“Defending against a meteor is no small task, but do not forget about that dream you told me you had. This is nowhere near enough to accomplish your dream.”

For a moment, there was a silent stare between Malon and Captain Steel.

However, Malon eventually smirked, “I know…” He said with a determined look in his eyes, “But I am that much closer. One day, I will get to that point… the point where I can defend against an attack that can destroy an entire planet. That is my dream!”

Steel’s lips slowly curled into a smile, ‘This crazy bastard might actually do it… but I wonder who inspired him to have such an absurd dream.’ He shook his head as he chuckled, at a loss.

Malon exhaled, ‘I am getting closer to my dream… but Captain is right. I can’t celebrate too much. That dream of being able to stop a world-destroying attack… it is only right of someone wanting to stand beside the man who will conquer this entire world one day. When that world of Tyr’s is in trouble, I will protect it all alone with a single bash of my shield.’ He grinned.

***

Free Flowing Peak…

A large waterfall crashed down into the river, peacefully flowing down the treeline before dropping off again about 5 miles south.

In the shallow part of the river next to the waterfall were seated 100 Hunters in meditation with their legs crossed. Only the top of their chests and above were exposed out of the water, the rest submerged.

They were all naked, from head to toe. Not even a single piece of underwear to protect the treasures they all held.

Captain Maxim stood at the riverside in her usual skinny rainbow bikini outfit and a twirling whip in her hand. She had a bright smile on her face as she addressed the group:

“By the time the Branch Power Tournament arrives, you all will learn every stride of what it means to flow. You will be one with movement, flowing ever so easily through every endeavor! Your beautiful bodies will be let loose and free!”

Hanzo’s left brow twitched, a frown coming onto his face as he tilted his head down, ‘Why… in the hell am I in this damn branch!? Tsk… fuck.’ He felt heavily disappointed.

‘I’m not learning anything… and this Captain… she is only making us do dull tasks while naked. Is it some sort of humiliation ritual? I wanted to form a dream… but at this rate, it looks like I will forget who the hell I even am after losing all of my dignity. I can’t take this much longer. I need to do something.’

As he thought this, Captain Maxim’s smile faded. She scanned the crowd, and then honed her gaze onto Hanzo with a serious look on her face. Her eyes narrowed as she thought:

‘You still aren’t letting yourself go… you’ll have to learn eventually, Hanzo. You can’t dominate my way of training… and you sure as hell can not dominate me.’

…

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep