Chapter 176: A Spar of Fire

Chapter 176: A Spar of FireChapter 176: A Spar of Fire

Nik opened his eyes after another session of meditation. It was a little before dawn and he opened his status screen to note the changes.

[Name: Nik Faran

Age: 20 (80)

Code: GC—EHG—98034

Authority Rank: 1 (9.65→9.77/100)

Paradise: Transmigration

Title: Transmigration Intern

Bloodline: Adonis' Ember (Common)

Physique: 2.5→ 2.7

Mental: 2.4→ 4.3

Energy: 30→ 30.1]

Nik, from the information collected in the library, already found out that many benders when reaching the zenith of their respective bending styles may have extraordinary strength so beings like Iroh and Bumi could kick his ass physically without resorting to bending.

And training more in various bending styles had started to improve his overall strength.

The most notable growth came in his mental stat. It was related to his ability with digesting information, forming quick decisions, and other mental factors, and given that he could absorb information by looking at things due to the library he had absorbed... his mental stat would only continue to grow. The thing to note, however, was that absorbing the library didn't increase his stat at once due to all the knowledge it contained but only grew at a quick pace afterward.

Finally... his energy stat had the least growth but he already overshadowed others in this area by far. It was better to use his extraordinary reserve of chi to train bending styles and spar with the girls to pump his physique instead.

Soon, Iroh called him down from the roof and Nik found Zuko and Azula waiting behind the store.

Jin... had decided to stay inside. But she was at least on speaking terms with Iroh after all that. Azula's and Zuko's actions hadn't clouded her mind against Ursa and Iroh. Both of them have been nothing but kind to her, after all.

"Was this wall always here?" Azula noted as she stopped beside the store.

"How the hell would I know?" Zuko shrugged.

Ursa didn't have any reason to fret over her children wanting to train with their uncle. Heck, Iroh was the only one she trusted from the entire royal lineage of the Fire Nation.

As the siblings squabbled, Iroh and Nik walked out of the store. Iroh was supposed to teach them firebending, or at least, guide them correctly on what they already knew. Before that, he must assess their current level and depth of knowledge regarding the bending of an element in the first place. Nik was aware of this. Hama did the same when she first began teaching waterbending and Aang was similar when it came to airbending. Each bending style had its own beliefs even if it didn't match with the spirit of the particular element itself.

La, for instance, is a tyrannical spirit of sea and ocean. But she didn't represent the entire aspect of water, Nik understood that after going through waterbending theories from the library. This only affirmed Nik's quest to learn from others and master their teachings in a manner that suited him the best.

But just because Nik found this reasonable and would be willing to easily bear someone else's assessment didn't mean the siblings would be the same.

They had entered one of the more spacious tunnels with Nik earth bending a path for them and the siblings soon showed what they knew. Iroh was naturally amazed by Azula's blue flames. They were not only hotter but more intense and 'substantial' in his words while Zuko had an amazing drive and stamina for bending, too... however...

"It's alright," Iroh smiled, "The two of you just need to practice the foundational Kata stances and it will help you grow better."

"Huh? I just did those," Zuko frowned.

"Oh, Zuzu, Uncle must have his reasons to speak, right? Let's hear him out," Azula's smirk didn't quite reach her eyes. It was as if... Iroh didn't see her bending blue flames.

Meanwhile, Nik just enjoyed the sight of the crystal-covered cavern and picked one of the crystals to eat them knowing full well that these were earthen candies of sorts.

And it was good!

"I mean what I said," Iroh smiled and sat down on the ground, "The two of you still lack... foundation. Your balance is off. You two certainly have the experience to back up your skills but... subpar skills will only take you so far."

Iroh then plucked a crystal, too, and ate it with a pleased expression.

"Our skills are the best in this village," Zuko retorted.

"It just so happens that the world is far beyond the scope of a village." Iroh patiently replied but he was once young, too, and understood words wouldn't convey his meaning. It was a good thing he could give a demonstration... in the form of his earlier disciple.

Smiling and completely laid back, Iroh chuckled and gestured towards Nik, "Why don't you have a go with him? Hmm... the two of you can spar with him together."

"What?" Nik's eyes widened. This wasn't right at all... he had seen the two and their moves and he didn't understand why the hell Iroh would ask him to take them on...

"Oh, I don't expect you to win but having a sparring partner will help you improve, too."

"But why the two of them?" Nik frowned.

"Why not? External pressure works wonders in improving oneself..."

"You just don't wanna take one of them yourself," Nik was quick to catch the truth while Iroh's smile widened, "See? External pressure made you more perceptive, too."

Nik scoffed, not even angry by Iroh's response but more amused.

"I disagree," Zuko shook his head, "I'm more than enough."

"Oh, you," Azula shook her head while she finally found a way to have some payback, "This is not some Agni Kai. Of course, we must spar to understand each other's capabilities better."

Again, external stimuli proved beneficial as Nik understood the unsaid meaning— Azula was out for payback...

Looking around, Azula's lips quivered for a second.

She saw a slightly worse Zuko sitting not far from her with his shoulders slumped and Nik idly humming a tune while her uncle checked her condition as she let him.

'Damn it!' She clenched her fists.

{A/N: Let me get this straight, a fully trained Azula from the canon at the age of 20 would kick Nik's ass five ways to Sunday... but she ain't that version.}

---

After the sparring match, Iroh found that Azula and Zuko were quite willing to listen to him and adopt the most basic of kata stances. Then again, they had no other choice. Even if the two had won against Nik, Iroh would have utterly decimated them right after. A flawed foundation even if supported by pillars of experience would result in flawed thinking.

For his nephew and niece, Iroh wanted only the best. Even if it meant being a little tough at the beginning, Iroh knew it would do them well to grow a little more humble. He was already quite happy by the fact that both of them were away from the venom their father happened to be.

Nik practiced alongside them. He had surprised Iroh greatly and Iroh found no reason to not further his practice with additional bending techniques now. Again, Iroh kept to basics and made it clear that they would only learn the very foundation of techniques from him.

Although this ruffled some feathers within the siblings, they ultimately decided to go along... for now.

And their first practice session came to an end during the break of dawn as they returned to the store at once.

When they returned, Ursa awaited their return... and Jin continued to ignore the siblings, only greeting back once Azula casually called her out.

"Where is everyone?" Ursa inquired.

"Hmm? You didn't see them outside?" Nik inquired, hiding the mischievous twinkle in his gaze as Ursa held back the urge to fuss over her children... it would only trigger them, after all. But it was hard seeing them so roughed up. Even Nik looked a bit haggard after all had happened.

Ursa shook her head and Nik walked into the dining area of the tea store and soon returned to the kitchen, "I don't know... they seem there to me," he shrugged.

Exasperated, Ursa repeated, "I'm telling you, they aren't—" and as she pushed the door open, her voice was stuck in her throat.

---

While the fire nation's department was destroyed from the library that now merged with his mind through spiritual voodoo, it still contained a large deposit of many strange articles of knowledge, and being a spirit himself, Wan Shi Tong had quite a large base on spirits themselves. So, in the past few days, Nik had started to truly focus on that aspect of information submerged in his brain and found out the legends of many spirits he had already seen and the ones he had only heard of. This included the famous Sun Spirit Ra who the moon spirit warned him about alongside the Flower of Fertility and also... the Goat Butcher Mo.

This is the peculiar spirit that had gotten on June's tail.

"Say what?"

Toph was already struggling to breathe as she wheezed while Suki's shoulders shuddered, too.

Nik had spent his day idly waiting on tables and when the trio returned, he was quick to bring up the subject to June.

Shrugging as he served them tea, Nik sat down, "I said that the Goat Butcher Mo turns its victims into goats if they aren't one already and then have them get fucked before being sacrificed as ripe flesh... so, that's the reason you were slowly getting fur on your body each day when you woke up."

June's lips twitched constantly, "Well? What can I do to stop it?!" Her panic was... reasonable.

"There isn't any... you either turn into a goat within a month or you don't and the spirit leaves you alone," Nik shrugged, and June groaned.

"Talk about being an asshole," she rubbed her temples before a seductive smirk reached her lips, "So? All I have to do it... keep on doing that, hmm? Oh, what a terrible task I'm forced to do."

"Peh," Toph spat, "Even lying has limits!"

"Not for me~" June smirked and added, "I guess I get to be the one to give you the good news, hmm? We found a prison hold. All metal and iron."

"You did?" Nik's eyelids jumped in surprise as Suki nodded with a smirk, "Yes, we did. Thanks to Toph."

"Aw... you don't have to be so obvious... I know I am awesome!" She grinned.

"Hmm, well, let's discuss this with others later," Nik smiled, "Oh, I'm hitting the tavern today? Any company?"

He had tried to bring others along... but training and working barely left them with any energy. While it wasn't obvious before... others had started to think about having different shifts. As expected, Suki shook her head while a yawn also escaped Toph's lips. Only June got reinvigorated by the thought of getting drunk as a skunk and having her morning worse alongside a hangover... well, anything was better than slowly transforming into a fucking goat come morning.

So, Suki and Toph went into his personal space to rest, leaving Nik and June alone.

Thinking for a second, Nik inquired, "Hey, want to make the visit more interesting?"

Blinking in surprise, June's smirk turned equally lewd, "Sure, lover boy. If you can handle more than me."

Nik scoffed with a smirk. Like she didn't know already he WOULD handle her pert ass for hours to come tonight now that she threw out the challenge. Then again, that's exactly what she wanted.

So, while Nik deposited Nyla, June's pet Shirshu into his personal space to rest, June went ahead and kidnapped a stumped Jin.

***

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