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“So, what are your plans now that you’ve completed your training here?” Piandao asked.
“I need to go to the Northern Water Tribe. They’re going to be under siege soon, and I need to get into the city somehow. The problem is, I don't know how I'm going to get there before the Fire Nation's ships set up their siege," I said.
"You're going to save the moon spirit from General Zhao, right?" Piandao asked, thoughtful.
"Yeah," I answered.
We both thought for a moment before Fat spoke up. "Do you have to beat the Fire Nation there? What if you enter in together with the siege? You know, I heard some soldiers recruiting in town earlier this morning. I bet it's for this attack on the Northern Water Tribe."
"That's perfect!" I said.
"Yes, well done, Fat. And with my recommendation, you'll be accepted easily into their ranks," Piandao said.
I mused to myself, I would be entering undercover just like Zuko did. Yes, that sounds perfect. I can even use the chance to spar against some of the soldiers as training and gain some EXP that way. I won't even have to try swimming underneath the ice like Zuko did because I only had to enter in time to stop Zhao. I didn't have to go in ahead of them. In fact, I could even see Iroh again!
The more I thought about it, the more I liked it.
"You said they were recruiting now? Can we go now? I don't want to miss the window," I asked Piandao.
"Yes, let's go. Just one thing. You should use a different name. 'Stone' is too foreign. You should go with Lee. There's a million Lee's," Piandao said.
"Okay, I'll be Jin Lee," I said, "I'll need a disguise, if I want to hide my identity for when I inevitably defect. I don't want to bring trouble back to you master if I'm entering with your recommendation." Man, those 10 points in Intelligence are coming in handy.
Fat went and fetched a tin of what looked like coal paste. "Here, this will dye your hair black. Your strange gold hair is too noticeable."
I laughed and went to apply it to both my hair and beard. Luckily I had been letting it grow out during my time here. It definitely wasn't to mimic Piandao.
I came back with black hair that was common here in this world and a bushy black beard. I strapped my amazing new blade onto my back, it was too large to wear on the hip, with my backpack over the sheath. I strapped my old sword to my hip. It was my first ever sword and it just didn’t seem right to just discard it.
We made our way out of the estate and into town. It was the first time in two weeks I stepped foot in town. Luckily, I never talked to anyone when I entered. I had basically beelined it straight to Piandao.
In the center square of the town we found some soldiers running recruitment pitches to the men. Which was a lot nicer than I thought they would do. I had imagined they would just come into town and draft all the young men.
"Join the military! You get 10 silver a month and 3 meals a day! Amazing benefits and chances for glory and honor for your families!" One of the guys shouted.
"Master Piandao!" Another of the guys noticed them approaching and bowed respectfully. He was a world renowned sword master after all, even teaching the royal family.
"Greetings, soldier. I heard you were recruiting men for a large-scale attack on the Northern Water Tribe," Piandao said.
"Yes, sir. That's correct. This attack will be the end of the water tribe once and for all."
Piandao nodded along. "This here is my latest student, Jin Lee. He's completed his training and now only needs to gain experience out in the real world. This siege sounds like the perfect opportunity for him to grow," Piandao said.
The soldiers all marveled. "One of your students!" "Look at the size of him!" "That sword's as big as me!"
The one that seemed to be in charge cleared his throat and they all shut up. "This sounds perfect. He'll definitely be welcome aboard. Since he comes with your recommendation, we can put him on a ship near the front."
Piandao nodded, and turned towards me. "You go along with them and make me proud." And he handed me a small bag. It was the bag with the white lotus tile I had given him when I first arrived. "Use it well."
I nodded, and bowed deeply. People don't usually hug here, so this was the best way to show my appreciation and respect. "Thank you, master." I made my voice deeper than usual, another difference with this new Jin Lee identity. My Deception skill will be carrying my acting abilities hard these coming days.
We parted ways and I went with the officer towards the docks. There were several large warships. "Let's get you situated with some armor. You're huge, so it may take some doing to find one that fits you."
The next few hours were spent getting the standard soldier gear and settling into my new bunk. Luckily we managed to find some armor that fit me. It was a bit snug, but I preferred it that way, I didn't want my armor to be bouncing around on me.
For weapons, the Fire Nation was actually pretty lax about that. You could choose your loadout, or bring your own weapon, especially if it was a Piandao sword. They were the best of the best in swordcraft. So I kept my sword without issue. Heck, there were even guys using a ball and chain.
I have to admit, being fully decked out in armor with a huge two handed sword on my back, I felt like I was living every man's dream. I examined myself in my armor with glee. The maroon sheath of my sword fit the red and black of the armor extremely well. I unsheathed my Blade and struck a pose, as if I was about to strike. I caught sight of movement in the corner of my eye and turned to look, seeing a soldier in the doorway looking at me. The man coughed and continued moving on without saying anything. Embarrassed at being caught posing in front of the mirror, I sheath my sword.
Now that I was geared up, and had my stuff situated, I was eager to test my skills against the common soldiers to get my free EXP. I hoped to defeat everyone on the ship in a spar by the time we got to the north pole.
Since I was now on a Fire Nation ship, I did have to be careful to not use the air nomad forms that I've been used to. I did have a proper sword fighting style imparted to me by Piandao, so it wasn't a big issue. Though I could also use this chance to improve on my Fire Nation forms, the Northern Shaolin style.
I made my way onto the large deck. There were a couple of soldiers there already sparing. Many of the soldiers here were firebenders, so they were sending blasts of fire at each other. My heart started pumping with excitement. One thing I had discovered about myself when I fought against those bandits for the first time, was that I liked the thrill of the fight. I was a battle junky. Perhaps that was why I was chosen to be a part of the 100,000 to travel different worlds.
"Hey you!" I called to the nearest soldier, who looked like he was waiting for something, as I walked up to him. "You want to spar with me?"
The man turned to look at me, then up to my helmeted face, and paled. "Uhhh… I actually have some chores to do, gotta go!"
I grabbed his collar and dragged him to an open space. "Ah, come on! I won't hurt you too much! Are you a firebender?"
"Uh, y-yeah?"
"Then you'll be fine! I'm not a bender, so you could say that you have the advantage!" I say to boost his confidence. And who knows? I never faced a bender before, so he might win.
With that thought, he stood up straighter. "Yeah, alright then! Let's do this."
I draw my sword, catching the eyes of all the soldiers up on the deck.
"Ready? Begin!" A man watching on the side called out.
The soldier I was facing immediately sent out several quick blasts of fire. I dodged around them as best as I could, trying to find my way towards the man, with each dodge, I was a step closer. He then forced me back with a large wave spreading out from a low kick. Then he went on the offensive, pushing forward in an aggressive style.
We spent a little bit of time going back and forth like this. I wanted to try and tease out a firebender's style, trying to recognize the Northern Shaolin forms in the actual firebending. Once I'd gotten used to it, I went for the takedown, and rushed him.
I dodged around the first two blasts, but I didn't want to give him time to send out the large wave, so I tanked the third right in the chest. The armor was designed to be fire resistant, so most of the heat was dissipated, but it did heat up a bit, causing me to cycle some Chi around my chest to prevent burns. I came out of the fire blast right in front of the soldier, and slammed down the flat of my blade onto his shoulder, causing him to crumple.
The fight was over. I checked my status screen and I made around 200 EXP from him. I grinned. If I gained that much from everyone, then I'll be able to cap the Street Rat Class finally. I hadn’t really been trying to level in this world, instead focusing on skills, but even so it was beginning to annoy me that I hadn’t even gotten 10 levels this entire time. Now, it was time to change that.
Thinking back on the fight that I just had. If the average soldier had this man’s skill in firebending, then I can wipe the floor with everyone. I hadn’t even used Chi Enhancement.
“Who’s next!” I turned to the spectators, but no one wanted to try. Disappointed, I pull out my pouch of coins and give it a little shake. “Anyone who beats me gets all my coin!”
~ CatAR ~
My provocation worked pretty well. Since I came with Piandao’s recommendation, I started out higher ranked than most soldiers, so I didn’t have as many duties to take care of during the day, mostly just making sure people stayed on task. So I had plenty of time to spar as I wanted. Over the course of the next several days, I had managed to pull about half of the ship’s crew into a fight, around 20 people. I beat all of them, the training from Piandao really putting me at the top bracket of fighters. As a result, I gained a bit of a reputation as the Undefeatable. By then, new people stopped wanting to spar with me.
I mostly remained helmeted and masked, so no one really got a good look at my face. I did on occasion let people catch a glimpse of my black hair and bearded face to give a sense of a false identity. When I confronted general Zhao, I didn’t want people to denounce Piandao.
Most of the common soldiers gave 200 to 250 Exp, depending on their skill in firebending. Some of them weren’t benders and fought with hammers, or swords. The officers were often more powerful firebenders, and reached 300 Exp. Over the course of the past few days, I gained 5,400 Exp, capping my Street Rat Class within the first few days. When I capped the class, it gave me a new skill! Pickpocket.
[Pickpocket LVL 1/100]
You’re fast with your hands. Decreases the chance of being discovered while stealing by 0.5%/LVL.
Which wasn’t really something I was comfortable with, but I’m sure there would be times when I would need it, so I wouldn’t complain. It also showed me that when I capped Classes, it would give me something.
Now that I was done with Street Rat, I was also able to select a new class for myself.
| Selectable classes: Brawler, Martial Artist, Bounty Hunter, Archer, Swordsman, Weapons Specialist, Monk, Earthbender, Soldier |
Brawler 0/10
Even without weapons, you’re ready to throw down.
+1 Str, +2 End per level
+10% damage with your bare hands, kicks, and body blows.
-10% physical damage received.
+25% learning speed in bare handed fighting.
Martial Artist 0/10
You’ve refined your unarmed fighting from senseless brawling to lethal precision.
+1 Str, +1 Dex, +1 Agi (Locked) per level
+20% damage with bare hands, kicks, and body blows.
+25% learning speed in martial arts styles.
Bounty Hunter 0/10
You’ve learned how to handle yourself against criminal scum, now you can profit off it.
+1 Str, +1 End, +1 Dex per level
+10% monetary rewards for jobs.
+10% damage to Wanted targets.
+25% learning speed in tracking and hunting skills.
Archer 0/10
You’ve learned to work with the wind and shoot things from afar.
+1 Dex, +1 Per (Locked), +1 Agi (Locked) per level
+10% Accuracy in ranged attacks.
+10% Damage to ranged attacks.
+25% learning speed in archery, tracking, and hunting skills.
Swordsman 0/10
You’ve started on the path of the sword, taking one step closer to becoming one with the blade.
+1 Str, +1 End, +1 Dex per level
+20% efficiency to all sword skills.
+25% learning speed to all sword skills.
Weapons Specialist 0/10
You've learned a variety of different weapons. Who says you can't master them all?
+1 Str, +1 Dex, +1 Agi (Locked) per level
+1 Fighting Skill Point per level. Can only use these skill points for fighting skills.
+25% learning speed for all weapon skills.
Monk 0/10
You’ve meditated and learned to move your Chi alongside your body. Use it to your advantage.
+1 End, +1 Vit (Locked), +1 Wis, +1 Chi (Locked) per level
+10% damage with bare hands, kicks, and body blows.
+10% efficiency to Chi skills.
+25% learning speed to Chi Skills.
Earthbender 0/10
You’ve been blessed by the Earth, aligning your Chi with it.
+1 End, +1 P. Res (Locked), +2 Chi (Locked) per level
+25% efficiency to Earthbending skills.
+25% learning speed to Earthbending skills.
Soldier 0/10
Good Soldiers follow orders.
+1 Str, +1 End, +1 Vit (Locked) per level
+20% to fighting skills when fighting with your team.
+25% learning speed in your assigned task.
Looking through the available classes, I really liked Brawler, Swordsman, Monk, and Earthbender. Monk and Earthbender were the best choices I think, but unfortunately, they gave stats that I don't have yet. I didn’t know if it would give them retroactively once I bought those stat modules, so I didn’t want to risk it yet. That left Brawler and Swordsman, but between the two, I really liked the damage reduction of Brawler.
It was a bit of a shame to take the other basic class that I had in the beginning, but right now I didn’t want to accidentally kill someone with the extra sword damage.
One interesting thing was that so far the Exp for Global Level and my class have been the same, but once I picked my new class, the Class Exp in Brawler reset to 0/224 Exp.
GLOBAL LEVEL: 10 9,586/13,054 Exp
CLASS: Brawler 1/10 0/224 Exp
CLASS HISTORY: Street Rat 10/10
As a result, I rapidly gained Brawler levels since I was gaining 200-300 Exp at a time.
A couple of days later, I received transfer orders. I was to be moved to the main flagship under the command of General Zhao. He had caught wind of my “Undefeatable” reputation and called me over.
When our little boat reached the flagship, cables pulled the ship up. When we reached the top, there were some men with hooks that pulled the boat over and onto the large docking/launching room for the onboard crafts.
Several different officers were also there with General Zhao. Just behind and to the right of Zhao was Iroh. I smiled behind my face plate. I had hoped to have the opportunity to meet him again.
"Welcome aboard, Lieutenant Lee. It's a pleasure to meet such a formidable student of Piandao," Zhao said. Maybe it was my own prejudice against the man, but he sounded oily.
I bowed as was appropriate. "General Zhao. It's an honor to be able to serve aboard your flagship."
Iroh looked a bit confused at the sound of my voice. Perhaps due to our last discussion, he was expecting to hear my actual voice, having guessed that the new student of Piandao was actually Callan Stone. I'll have to go talk to him later, since I didn't want to take off my face plate in front of Zhao. He was actually a cunning man that had seen through Zuko’s Blue Spirit disguise before. I didn't want to give him the chance to see through my own, even if he would be later killed by the Ocean spirit.
"I heard about your skills with the blade, and I need such strong soldiers when we enter into the city. I hereby promote you to Captain. You'll be in charge of a small group of men when we do. Feng!" Zhao ordered.
"Yes, sir!" A soldier, who must be Feng, answered.
"Show Captain Lee to his new room and help him get situated. Dismissed," Zhao said.
Bowing a goodbye to Zhao and Iroh, Feng led me to my new room. I didn't really need any help from Feng, so I sent him away. 'Man, it hasn't even been two weeks, and I'm already Captain. Am I just really lucky, or does the Fire Nation just value strength that much?'
As I was unpacking, there was a knock at my door. I still had my helmet on, so I opened the door. Standing in the hallway was Iroh holding a teapot and some cups. Looking down the hallway in both directions and seeing the coast was clear, I took off my faceplate. "Iroh! It's good to see you again!" I said in my normal voice.
Iroh seemed to sag in relief. "I suspected it was you, but the deeper voice you used before made me unsure. May I come in?"
I step aside, "of course!"
We sat down at a small table the room had, and Iroh dished out the cups. "I hope you don't mind, but I brought some tea to drink as we talk, made fresh."
Isn't my helmet to the side and sipped on the hot tea. We both enjoyed the warmth for a bit before Iroh spoke up again.
"I have to admit, I didn't expect you to show up here. Why are you infiltrating the Fire Nation's navy here in the North Pole? If you don't mind me asking, of course."
"Not at all. I'm here to stop something that could potentially destroy the world. One of Zhao's goals here isn't to just defeat the Northern Water Tribe, but to find the Moon Spirit. The moon and ocean spirits had taken a physical form, and still reside in the Northern Water Tribe's spiritual oasis. Zhao discovered this and now seeks to slay the Moon Spirit," I say solemnly.
Iroh gasped in horror. "The fool!"
I nodded. "Yeah. I've come undercover to stop him. Though I'm in disguise because I don't want to incriminate Piandao. When the attack occurs, I'll lose myself in the chaos and remove my disguise, so this 'Jin Lee' will end up dead in the chaos at the hands of Callan Stone."
"That's a pretty smart plan, Callan," Iroh said, impressed.
"So, how's Prince Zuko?" I said in a whisper. "How's he handling being undercover himself?"
Iroh sighed. "Of course you know about that. You know, you could have warned me about the bombing. I had thought that I had lost my nephew."
I grimaced with guilt. "I'm sorry, Iroh. It's just that the journey Prince Zuko goes through helps shape him to become a better person. I didn't dare risk changing something and thus making things even worse."
Iroh drank some more of his tea while he thought. "I suppose I can see where you're coming from. Zuko isn't handling things very well. He is angry and desperate right now."
"Well, if there's anything I can do, let me know."
~ CatAR ~
Being in a new ship, the soldiers didn’t really know me yet and so they weren’t too afraid to spar with me. By the end of the week, I sparred with around 30 more soldiers, gaining 8,100 more Exp, and 8 more levels in Brawler. Unfortunately, neither Zhao or Iroh were willing to spar with me. Not that I thought that I could defeat Iroh, and for sure not without revealing my earthbending, but I had hoped to get some extra Exp from Zhao. As much as I disliked the man, he was a powerful firebender. We were approaching the wall of the Northern Water tribe. I checked my Status Screen.
STATUS SCREEN
NAME: Callan Stone
TIER: 1
GLOBAL LEVEL: 12 18,047/22,323 Exp
CLASS: Brawler 9/10 8,461/9,586 Exp
CLASS HISTORY: Street Rat 10/10
STATS:
Str: 20 => 29 (9 levels in Brawler)
End: 22 => 25 (3 levels in Street Rat) => 43 (9 levels in Brawler)
Dex: 23 => 26 (3 levels in Street Rat)
Int: 10
Wis: 21
Cha: 12 => 15 (3 levels in Street Rat)
Free Stats: 25 (5 Global Levels)
SKILLS:
Skill Points: 10 (5 Global Levels)
[Deception LVL 100/100]
[Forestry LVL 100/100]
[Axe Handling LVL 100/100]
[Wood Chopping LVL 100/100]
[Persuasion LVL 100/100]
[Hammer Handling LVL 100/100]
[Blacksmithing LVL 100/100]
[Sword Handling LVL 100/100]
[Knife Handling LVL 57/100]
[Sewing LVL 40/100]
[Cooking LVL 100/100]
[Leatherworking LVL 23/100]
[Running LVL 100/100]
[Sprinting LVL 100/100]
[Jumping LVL 100/100]
[Leap LVL 52/100]
[Acrobatics LVL 100/100]
[Sneak LVL 100/100]
[Muted Steps LVL 100/100]
[Hide LVL 60/100]
[Meditation LVL 100/100]
[Archery LVL 50/100]
[Carpentry LVL 100/100]
[Sailing LVL 68 => 70/100]
[Baguazhang LVL 100/100]
[Chi Manipulation LVL 81 => 83/100]
[Chi Sensing LVL 65 => 66/100]
[Low Cosmic Connection LVL 14/100]
[Horse Riding LVL 52/100]
[Fishing LVL 100/100]
[Wood Carving LVL 100/100]
[Swimming LVL 70/100]
[Drawing LVL 80/100]
[Haggling LVL 25/100]
[Chi Enhancement LVL 41 => 54/100]
[Parry LVL 100/100]
[Dodge LVL 60 => 87/100]
[Counter LVL 75 => 90/100]
[First Aid LVL 5 => 10/100]
[Intimidation LVL 5 => 12/100]
[Earthbending LVL 70/100]
[Seismic Sense LVL 73/100]
[Earth Softened Steps LVL 43/100]
[Chi Enhanced Senses LVL 35 => 42/100]
[Northern Shaolin LVL 4 => 100/100]
[Language(Hanzi) LVL 38 => 40/100]
[Calligraphy LVL 25 => 28/100]
[Situational Awareness LVL 42 => 60/100]
[Painting LVL 32/100]
[Sunder LVL 43 => 45/100]
[Pickpocket LVL 1/100] *NEW*
WP: 1,800 => 1,850
With my stat points, I add 5 to Intelligence just so it doesn’t fall too far behind, and dump the 20 remaining into Wisdom. Wisdom helps a little with my Chi.
STATS:
Str: 29
End: 43
Dex: 26
Int: 10 => 15
Wis: 21 => 41
Cha: 15
Free Stats: 25 => 0
While my Earthbending won’t be much use here in the North Pole, because everything is ice, I could still use my Chi to boost myself, and I’ll need every advantage I could get.
“Alright, men! I want double the watchmen tonight, it’s likely the waterbenders will attack during the night. Tomorrow, we will attack the Northern Water Tribe!”
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