I didn’t want to leave. It’s not that I wanted to stay here per se, it’s just that the idea of leaving again made my heart race. There was a massive mix inside me about it, but it was almost all negative. Out there, was dangerous. Behind me, in the tunnels I’d spent far too long in, I’d had to eat raw rat, nearly died of disease and infection, nearly died multiple times. It was awful in a very long way.

  And yet in front could almost be worse. I’d overestimated myself and nearly gotten me and my friend killed. I’d lost an arm, a hand, and lowered my very power level itself. There were still things in the dark and unless I became incredibly proficient with my legs, I’d be less than useless against them. The dark and the unknown were terrifying, especially since one of the turtles got away.

  The only reason and thing waiting for me on the other side… was freedom. Freedom from these sewers and the hope that master could help me fix what I’d broken. That he could help me restore my power level, heal my hand and lost arm, and train me more to gain strength so I’d never be in such a horrible situation again.

  I’d have waited and lingered for a long, long time if I could. Ignoring it, pretending I wasn’t just procrastinating because I was scared and guilty. Ragual was having none of that. After a single day of greeting all the villagers, eating a massive meal, and sleeping the sleep of the dead, he had literally dragged me to the tunnel. He had listened to none of my protests, verbal or otherwise. I couldn’t even make any hand symbols to get my point across.

  Ragual was still bandaged a bit, but the healers here had the strange philosophy of not letting someone up until they were fully healed. In that way, Ragual had made a full recovery. And more.

  [9]

  He’d grown stronger from that life and death battle. He’d pushed past and broken his limits. The distance between us had grown ridiculous. I’d grown weaker and he’d grown stronger. Ragual knew it. He didn’t have a Vambrace, he didn’t have the ability to see power levels, but he could tell. I saw worry in those eyes that almost went deep into panic at times. He had made his point crystal clear when he’d pointed at me, the surface, and then raised a fist.

  He wanted me to go up there and get stronger again. He’d even pointed to a herb and then me. Specifically, my missing left arm and destroyed right hand. He wanted me to get healed. I didn’t know if the healing tank could put me back together but, well, I had hope and that was more than most could ever wish for.

  He pushed the boulder almost like it was nothing this time. At least, that’s how it seemed. Pushing it back with the same sort of ease. Something I wouldn’t be able to do right now, for multiple reasons. He’d grabbed his torch for the third time and we entered into the darkness.

  It was quiet, peaceful this time, but I was on high alert, as was Ragual. My Vambrace still worked, seeming even harder than the armor I’d worn. It didn’t even have a scratch from where It’d been slammed into. Turning on the light with no hand was rough but pecking at it like the world’s stupidest bird with my nose did the trick. Ragual wouldn’t stop laughing and a swift kick to the ass shut him up.

  Stupid Battle Toad, pay attention to our surroundings.

  The walk was quiet and tense. We passed by more bones, more skeletons, and even more blue crystal growth in the walls. Ultimately though, when we passed by where the ninja turtle bodies should be, there was no trace of them. I could tell it was the same location by the hole in the stone wall.

  I stared at it, as did Ragual. This is where he almost died and where I’d unleashed a blast of Ki that had destroyed my arm and power level, but saved his life, as well as murdering one of the turtles. The hole was deep, beyond what our light could shine through. I still couldn’t believe I’d managed to do that. The moment was so crystal clear in some areas and foggy in others. I’d felt a connection with the entire universe in that moment but I couldn’t see what I’d connected to. It was like feeling your place in the universe and also seeing fog in high definition behind glass. The way it’d felt then… it was… infinity. Ki was infinite. That’s how it felt and I’d taken a piece of my own infinity and unleashed it long before I should.

  I was lucky to get away with just destroying my arm. It had vaporized completely in a moment, even sealing its own wound shut and frying the nerves.

  We shook off the moment and kept going. Danger was still everywhere and we needed to be going forward sooner rather than later.

  Finally, as if from my deepest dreams and hopes and wishes, I saw it.

  A literal light at the end of the tunnel.

  We continued on, my heart beating like a drum, blood pounding in my ears. Was it… finally time? Could I really finally be getting out of here?

  The tunnel continued to slope up until-

  Sky. A blue sky, white clouds, green grass, a sun. A sun. It was mid day, noon maybe. Birds were singing and the entrance we’d come out of was old and abandoned, vines and other plants coiling around the stone.

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  Ragual stared up, just as in much awe as me. No matter how much I’d seen it before, it’d been too long. Far too long. I’d thought, I’d thought I’d never get to see this sight again. I felt the wind brush against my skin and flow through my hair. I was far, far cleaner than when I’d first found myself in the sewers but still, only with something fresh to compare it to, did I realize how… ‘earthy’ I smelled. My scent was rich to say the least, despite diving regularly in a pool. Well, I’m sure part of me smelled like frog and toad so…

  My smile was wide and I wanted to do nothing more than lay in the grass and stare up at the sky. How long had it been? How long was I down there? How long had it been since I’d even looked up at the sky and smiled in joy? That last one, it had been years at least. It had been so long since I’d been outside the city and just appreciated nature. Actually, was this, really the first time I’d been outside the city since I’d arrived?

  I tried to remember a time I’d ever left after being forced here and couldn’t remember a single time.

  At that moment, it crystallized for me. What I truly wanted outside beating the shit out of Vega and getting revenge. I wanted freedom. I wanted to be able to go out into the land and experience more of this wonderful world. To see new sights, to see new people and amazing things. Just experience the pure wonder of nature. I could do without going and visiting any more sewers or underground areas though. Maybe a nice lake by the ocean or something.

  I felt a massive hand clamp down on my one remaining shoulder. Ragual looked at me, joy radiating outwards. And more. I could see it and understand him. Pride. He’d helped me, he’d saved me, he’d gotten me here. He’d managed the impossible and done it.

  Ragual, truly, I don’t deserve you. Your will… I think your will is so much stronger than mine. But I will live up to it.

  “Hey buddy. We did it.”

  He croaked in return.

  I took a step back, looking at him. I could already tell. This is where we separated.

  “I’ll be fine Ragual.” I said when I saw the worried look appear in his eyes. “I can’t be that far away from the city walls. I’ll get there immediately. You’ve been one of the best friends, my only friend, in years. And you’ve done more for me than you ever could have or should have. Well, besides nearly killing me that one time.”

  I smirked and his eyes narrowed. He didn’t know what I said but he could sense I said something unflattering.

  He croaked back at me, saying his own words that I couldn’t understand. I listened dutifully and narrowed my own eyes when I caught a smirk and a glance down at my stomach. This bastard was asking for it.

  He raised a fist towards me and I fist bumped with my own bandaged hand.

  He croaked but the words were obvious.

  “Goodbye Mutai.”

  “Goodbye Ragual. I’ll see you around and I’ll come back one day. So you better get stronger! Because next time, I’m not gonna be relying so much on you.”

  I raised a fist into the air and he matched me.

  I watched his back, scarred but unbroken, as he walked back into the darkness.

  I smiled, before realizing I was outside the city walls and had no idea where I was.

  “Ah. I might… want to hurry then.”

  *****

  Thankfully, the Vambrace had GPS that actually worked now that I wasn’t a few miles underground.

  Finding the entrance to the city was easy, being let inside even easier. It might have had walls but it didn’t really block anyone from entering. It was just there for the big creatures and wildlife out there. Dinosaurs, winged abominations, giant versions of other animals, robots, things like that.

  Finding the dojo proved a little harder. I was tempted, so tempted, to just call master but my feelings on him were still too much. I wanted, no, I needed to see him in person. To talk to him in person. Which meant wandering around a city, wearing nothing but white cloth underwear, asking for directions.

  For a moment, I thought I’d stand out.

  Then I passed a woman with three heads arguing about the weather and realized I’d forgotten the kind of city I was in.

  After an embarrassingly long time, where I remembered that there was a hot dog stand nearby and then made the logical leap that his dojo couldn’t have been that far from where I’d nearly died to gangsters and spent another two hours searching, I finally found the right area.

  It was dark by the time I found the dojo and staring at it, standing outside the alley, felt surreal to a degree I didn’t know was possible.

  This was where the man that had saved me and trained me was. The man who’d helped me break my limit. The man who truly believed I could beat Vega and who only wanted me to get revenge for him in exchange.

  I owed him everything in a way.

  And he’d sent me to hell in all but name. With no warning and little advice, he’d gambled my life. It had made me stronger in spirit and mind than I’d ever be with power level alone, but he’d essentially left me to die. There was fear there. Fear that I’d come back and he’d do it all over again in an instant. That I’d wind up somewhere else, even deeper underground, down an arm and a hand, and be told to crawl my way back up until I was stronger.

  And there was anger, blazing blistering anger. I’d suffered unlike ever before, in a hell of shit, piss, blood, and savagery. Even with healing, I had more scars than most people would ever get. Faded as they were, those had stood out, even in this city. After all, healing tanks didn’t leave scars.

  I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, whether to thank him or hit him. Whether to go back to being a student and diligently training under him or swear a life long vendetta against him and leave this city never to return.

  I was still thinking, even as the door opened and Master walked out.

  “So,” He said. “You survived.”

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