Strongest Among the Heavens

Three days till the bandits appeared to ask for tribute. Three days to train. Three days to help the School of Muramasa with its daily tasks.

Kazi became a self-appointed leader and chose roles for every person. Elena, Marta, and Aisha did the cooking, cleaning, and set-up some traps. John and Sun-young watched over the injured students. David stood guard outside to warn them in the event the bandits arrived early. Kazi himself went to chop trees with William tagging along. The trees that grew from the up-down were their targets as it would better preserve the forest. The students of Muramasa were very specific about it.

William was ecstatic about it. Broad-shouldered, he possessed a natural talent swinging the axe. Tiny chips of wood went flying as he sliced the branch like butter. Kazi was taller and less muscular, yet achieved slightly less success. Form seemed to matter plenty in wood chopping.

"Phoo!" Thwack! Another branch cut, William tossed it to the pile. His focus was on his strength and resilience, hence why it surpassed Kazi's despite William being Level 13, a whole three levels lower. "This is fun, isn't it?"

Kazi snickered. "For an axeman, it's probably fun. For the rest of us amateurs, it's just labour."

"Fair enough!" Thwack! "Being here is nice though! My grandfather was a legend, see. He was the real guy chopping trees down. My dad expanded the business and he still knew how to do it but—" Thwack! "He never got out often and when I got to middle school he stopped going altogether. Honestly, I used to be so jealous of my granddad. Nothing's better than the outdoors, eh?"

"But you still look up to your dad. That's good."

"Look up to him…I wouldn't say that. He was the…what's the word…aloof type. Always working, always—" Thwack! "...ignoring me and my mom. It's not like I hate him but there's no hard love either."

"Don't you miss anyone else in your life?" Thwack! Kazi failed to replicate William's incredible swings. He huffed and eyed the younger male from the corner of his eye.

"My mom and…that's really it. My mom."

Kazi's eyes swallowed his form. William's feet were shoulder-width apart and his right hand gripped the axe handle near the base, his non-dominant gripping the handle higher up. The wind-up though. That was where the secret was.

Thwack!

No, no, no, he was wrong. The wind-up, the target, the and focus while working in conjunction was the cause of his phenomenal success.

"Didn't you go to school?"

"I did, but…" Thwack! His arms were extended, and his wrists were firm. The weight of the axe did the work. William didn't use all his strength; his focus was on his technique. "I tried to have friends. I tried, I really did, but it just never worked out."

"Oh, yeah? What happened?"

"I used to go to the school gym to work out. I thought I could make friends that way but…" Thwack! "I just ended up getting buff instead."

"That's unfortunate. Well, hey, at least you have a friend in me."

William started to laugh. "Yeah, AFTER I died. My mom complained about my procrastination and she was right." He continued laughing until it tapered off and he muttered to himself, smiling softly, "She was always right."

William stopped to catch his breath. That meant it was time for Kazi to show off his moves. With William watching, he shifted his feet and adjusted his shoulders.

To extract, comprehend, and imitate proper physical form. Kazi was absurdly good at it. It was why he got to attend so many trade schools. The practicality of it was like child's play to him. Learning to cook, learning to saw and hammer and drill, it was natural to him. His learning curve never stopped.

Thwack!

The next time Kazi swung, it was with pure perfection.

"Woah! My grandpa would be proud of that one," William praised jokingly.

"Maybe one day we'll meet him."

"Maybe."

"Say…you think we'll ever meet Michael Jackson in this? He is a part of history."

"If I could meet any historical figure," William said, "it would be Wayne Gretzky."

"Who?"

"A dead hockey player."

"I…don't know why but my instincts are telling me he isn't dead just yet."

***

In a sunlit courtyard, two women faced off with wooden swords, the clack of bamboo echoing in the air. Kazi and William watched with green tea in their hands. They were the earliest to finish their tasks. Therefore, they got to kick back and relax.

"Wanna bet on who wins?" William asked.

"I don't do bets." Kazi paused. "But Ms. Sun-young, for sure."

"Me too."

Wielding shinai, bamboo swords, Sun-young waited for Aiko to make a move. Aiko had recovered perfectly after some rest and a potion from Elena Petrovna. She was also watching, sitting beside them with concern. Elena was a stay-at-home wife in life. A forty year old Polish woman that didn't experience much besides her children and husband. A brunette with no visible wrinkles and a conservative outlook, she was apprehensive about the simple concept of sparring.

Aiko lunged at Sun-young and swung her sword down. It was perfectly blocked and Sun-young swiped a foot at Aiko's leg. It landed and Aiko buckled and weakened, allowing Sun-young to disarm her with a burst of power.

The bamboo sword clattered to her side.

"Winner, Ms. Sun-young," Kazi announced. "You did your best, Aiko."

Aiko grumbled, "I would have won if it was real swords."

She was deluding herself, for sure. While Aiko was by no means an amateur, her skill paled in comparison to Sun-young who was trained in modern-day kumdo. The type of skill she exhibited was incredibly technical. Her footwork was beyond what this era could offer. Then there was the length difference. Sun-young's arms and legs were significantly longer than Aiko's.

'That's what I'm thinking anyway. I do wonder how she'd fare against Muramasa. The students made him out to be a decent swordsman even though he's a blacksmith. I suspect it's because of this era's culture. Culture shapes attitudes.'

If this was a time of war, for example, children would be much more inclined to kill. The environment an individual was raised in mattered a lot in regards to their future.

"Can we do another?" Aiko asked.

"Sure."

Sun-young did not mind sparring. It was like scratching an old itch—at least that was what Kazi gathered from her body language. She enjoyed it and she rapidly improved with every swing.

"Do be careful," Elena called out. "Your arm isn't completely healed, Aiko!"

"I know!" Aiko replied. "I'll be okay!"

Elena frowned. She did not approve. She looked at Kazi but he met her motherly gaze with a smile. "They'll be fine, don't worry. I'm watching."

Elena let out an exasperated sigh. "You better."

The potion might have healed her, but Elena was still suspicious of magic. He couldn't blame her either. It was insane to watch wounds heal with a glass of green liquid.

"What am I missing?"

David arrived, setting down water buckets through the carrying pole on his shoulders. Nobody sent him a single look and greeted him in the blandest tone ever.

"Hey, David."

"Hey, David."

"Hello, David."

David sighed. "Hey, guys."

Dismissive greetings aside, David was a good guy. He was just super easy to ignore. The thirty year old man groaned and sat down next to Elena.

Another sigh from David. "Jeez. Can't I get a little respect here?"

"Haha, sorry, David." Kazi snickered. "You're so easy to mess with."

"Just saying—"

"You worked at Doogle, TikTak, and Fauxbook," William interrupted. "Yes, we know, you said it for the millionth time. Seriously, Kazi, why did you have to ask?"

"It's cool!" David protested.

"That is kinda cool, William," Kazi agreed.

Elena cupped her cheek, her fishtail braid falling over her left shoulder. "Tiktak…isn't that a game?"

"Um, no ma'am, it's social media," David explained. "Like Fauxbook?"

"Ooh, yes, yes! So is it a website to play games?"

"Games?"

"Like the candy crushing game," Elena said. "I played two thousand levels on it."

"And I thought my mom was crazy about that game," William muttered.

"I was at level eight thousand."

John Smith's deep voice entered the fray. He was an older gentleman and he stood poshly, his back never curving. His disconnected goatee was majestic on him and coloured a snow white.

"So did you spend all your time playing candy crush?" William asked.

John smiled. "I was retired, so yes." His gaze shifted to Sun-young, then to the fallen Aiko who had been bested yet again. His soft smile widened. "If you wouldn't mind, Ms. Sun-young, would you like to spar?"

"Woah. A challenge?" Kazi looked at Sun-young. "Are you going to accept?"

Her eyes furrowed and she nodded.

"Excuse me, young lady. Up you go." John helped Aiko up to her feet as if she were royalty. As soon as Aiko was seated in the gallery, his gloved white hand equipped the bamboo sword.

John hummed to himself, measuring its weight. Then, he shifted his feet and wrapped an arm behind him. Both knees were bent slightly while the bamboo sword was fully extended.

There was poise to John's form, a sharp contrast to the raw aggression Sun-Young's stance displayed. She held the sword with both hands in front of her body at head level.

The wind blew her hair. Sun-young stood at a respectable height of five-foot-ten. Unfortunately, John was taller and lankier. His arms were evidently much longer than the Korean woman and he was a head taller to boot. The disadvantage in physical ability was scary.

However, this was not Earth. The typical biological limitations did not apply in the afterlife and that was partly due to the Game System.

For a good minute, there was no movement. William glanced between them, puzzled. Elena was the same. John's level was filled with a question mark like Kazi's. Sun-young was level 14 and an Amateur Swordsman. It was anybody's guess as to who would win.