297 Dojo (Part 1)
Luke quickly climbed the mountain after leaving the point where he helped the woman who had been kidnapped. When he got almost to the top, he found a stone statue that was little more than ten feet high.
Ironically, this was a statue made to honor a dwarf, although it didn’t look that way, because the name of the statue was also loaded with irony: Great Eliezer. The human featured in the statue had a robust face and long, partially braided beards, not to mention his very detailed armor. However, what was most striking was not the name that contradicted Elizer’s real physiognomy, but the fact that he carried a typical Kendo sword in its side sheath.
Kendo swords have always been little used by Adventurers, although they were fast and allowed many different movements, the fact that they were made of bamboo provided more negatives than positives for their few users.
Even though Luke didn’t know the history of the Great Eliezer, he knew from the traces on the statue that the thing must be a few hundred years old.
“Eh… At least the shape of the sword looked nice on the statue.” Luke said to himself.
The sun had set by that time and the forest was much darker, but at least the moon illuminated the small clearing in which the monument stood.
“If the waitress said the dojo is around here, it shouldn’t be hard to find.” Luke uttered and that practically cursed him to a much longer search than it normally would have been. Words have power.
Luke spent so much time searching for the dojo in the dark forest that his stomach was shaking and making weird noises.
“Why can’t I find the dojo with <Yggdrasil>? Maybe it doesn’t exist anymore? Maybe it’s buried? Maybe it merged with the forest?” He reflected, searching for an answer.
[Luke Lange, look to the right, there is a trail] The scales warned him.
The half-wolf at the same moment looked to his right and saw what Scales was talking about. There really was a trail, almost imperceptible to the naked eye in that dark forest because dry leaves covered its entire length, except for one small leaf, the one responsible for helping them. Luke approached the trail and dragged some leaves a little to the side with his right boot.
There was a human footprint on the trail, identified by the marks of a shoe sole.
Luke crouched down near the footprint and placed his right hand on the trodden earth.
“The mark is deep, it was probably made by someone large or someone wearing a heavy shoe. It’s also recent…from this morning. Aren’t there supposed to be a few people coming here? I’ve already found three…”
Since that was the only clue he had, Luke followed the trail, dragging the leaves to the side to remember how to get back and also to see if anyone else might have joined the owner of the first footprint. However, the large footprint remained lonely until it came to a stone wall, which made it look meaningless.
“Unless this person knows how to fly, it’s not possible that he could have just suddenly disappeared. Even a teleportation would leave clear marks in the environment. What happened here?” Luke reasoned, looking at the stone wall. At that very instant, a conclusion arose in his mind and he whispered as he extended his hand forward, “<Gula>”
Soon, the stone wall began to be distorted as it was drawn toward the half-wolf’s palm. In less than a minute, the stone wall had already completely disappeared, revealing the entrance to an oriental-style dojo.
“So, it really was a really an illusion… Huf… Using that still tires me.” Looking down at his right palm, Luke felt quite tired. “There’s no reason to go back now… I really hope you’re here, Hazor.”
Above the wide entrance door was carved in very large letters: Dojo Leveill. However, Luke didn’t care about these details and just entered the building.
The dojo had a wooden floor that creaked immediately with the first step of the half-wolf. The sound of the creaking echoed into the darkness that plagued every corner of the place. Luke bent his knees in order to take some of the weight off his heels to make less noise.
Everything was very quiet and only the wind coming through the door could be heard. Luke couldn’t see very well, and his sense of smell identified nothing more than the musty, dusty smell of the room, but there was a sense of restlessness plaguing Luke’s chest that wouldn’t let him let his guard down.
As Luke went deeper into the dojo, the more noise his heart made. He was sure he was calm, so why could he hear his heartbeat so clearly? The answer to that question came when the silence was finally broken by the sound of a cloak swinging and the clang of a sword coming out of its sheath.
The half-wolf’s enhanced reflex was barely enough to dodge a cut that came from his right. Then another slash came from his left, aiming to cut off his head, but Luke was quick and made sure the blade only grazed him.
Luke considered summoning his Epic Class axe, only upon reasoning he realized that the large weapon as it was would only hinder him. Since the use of inventory was not instantaneous like evoking Weapons of Panspermia, he dared not pick up the obsidian sword he kept after the fight with the kidnappers.
‘Alright, I will just use my fists this time.’ Luke concluded.
The person attacking him strained in a diagonal slash at the height of his chest, evidencing that he was not joking and really wanted to kill the half-wolf. At this moment Luke turned a little to the side, letting the moonlight into the room, which was enough to show the blade that was about to hit him.
As soon as he saw the blade, Luke saw the path it would take, and since he didn’t want to be defensive, he put his hand in front of the sword, stopping it.
The mysterious assailant sighed in surprise as his blade was grabbed. A sudden glow appeared amidst the darkness, a blue glow that threw Luke several feet backwards.
‘Ouch, shit,’ Luke thought, slumped on the wooden floor of the dojo.
Now he was near the entrance, so it was well lit. He placed his right hand on his chest and then looked down at his own hand. There was quite a bit of blood on his hand and a cold chill rumbled through his ribs, indicating that the wound in his chest was quite serious.
The wood of the dojo floor creaked heavily as someone approached Luke was, until a man with a thick voice stated:
“You’re tough, kid. You managed to put pressure on me with only a few seconds left in the battle and at a disadvantage. Who exactly are you?”