Freedom Jumper-Chapter 148: Tryhard

Over the course of Elijah's new life, he had seen himself lose his way. From dropping into the depths of depression, giving his own life away, and simply not caring about a single thing in this world.

Depression...

Now, he was finally beginning to come back to his senses — color being added to the previous black and white canvas.

However, there was nothing worse than the feeling that he felt.

Because now...

He deeply cared for the future he could give himself.

Everything he had lost and been traumatized by was a factor for the weird state he was in. But the biggest variable was realizing he had become a completely different person — a shadow of who he once was, or truly...

A different person.

Maybe this was a good thing as this world did not operate to the likings of money, fame, and influence, but instead...

Whoever has the most power...

Standing in front of one of the eight obstacle entrances was Elijah while greeting every single person who chose to speak to him. Trying his best, he responded with real emotion while also digging into their past. Despite his long living years, the conversations quickly turned awkward...

"... That's so cool! Have you always wanted to kill beasts!" Elijah said with a fake smile.

"Uhh... I mean not really, but my entire family has joined the Protector's since seven generations ago. I enjoy following in their footsteps." Said Colten Gastriff, a simple brown hair and brown-eyed boy with small amounts of muscle — defined, and even taller than Elijah.

"Oh! Looks like I am up!" Elijah had learned that the professors had stepped in, suggesting a simple way at improving efficiency. Each person was to wait on one of the eight ends for enough space to be between each person. Since the hill of the king stood in the center, if you were knocked off, you had to get back in line.

Hastedly, Elijah began to jump from one parkour step to the next, swinging on the monkey bars to keep his momentum, and running effortlessly through the balancing beams. What did hold him up was crawling through tight spaces, as he was not able to use miniscule amounts of his flight ability.

Yes, he was cheating, but he did not care...

Within a matter of minutes, he had made it to the center where a mound sits calmly in the center, over fifteen feet higher than he currently was. Anyone who was not able to pick up enough speed would have no chance in making it to the ledge, and anyone not able to block the pushes and shoves from the king could simply give up.

The king was nor someone Elijah had recognized, or with any fancy power. However, he was built like an absolute machine, with his sleeves ripped off that showed his shoulder and arm muscles.

To be fair, Elijah was definitely built more than most, but there were always going to people above him. Ever since escaping the kingdom, he had not spent even an ounce of time working on his body, and layed casually in the less stressful kingdom.

Jace, who came from the other side of the mound while trying to find the best opening, saw Elijah standing about. "Wow, I'm surprised you made it this far Elijah! Please, enjoy this, as you likely will be watching from now on..."

The next thing Elijah knew, his arms were tied closely to his side as a silk string wrapped around his body. "Jace, sometimes I think you aren't a real person..."

Snap!

Elijah released small amounts of mana within his torso and arms, which were covered by the clothes he was wearing. The face of Jace when he had somehow broken out of his bindings was nothing short of priceless. Even a professor who had been watching the center scolded Jace and returned to his duty after seeing that Elijah had handled it himself.

What happened next was a chain of events that would shock even the greatest of the future paladins. Just as the king was about to thrust his palm into Elijah's head, he grabbed the palm and pulled himself up. A fight of pushing and shoving was created, and eventually, a sweep underneath the boy's feet secured his victory, but at the same time, caused an injury to the boy only playing a game.

"Heh... Tryhard." Said Jace in a mocking tone.

Not one bit of affection went through his mind while replaying the kid's back cracking against the edge of the mound. That was until he convinced himself that risk of injury was everywhere here...

...

"Name and number please..."

"Elijah Veran, 963."

"Oh! Elijah. I am excited for this one!" Said a male assistant stretching his hands.

Unfortunately, before the man could step into an empty grassy area from outside the tent, he saw Zack Trisdom – a simply dressed man with a black blindfold over his eyes. "What do you think you are doing, Rys?"

"Uhh... Hahaha! Just showing this kid to you." Rys scratched his head in awkwardness while stepping back into the tent.

"You know the rules, anyone like him is to be tested by me...Now, follow me. If you must know, your name has a star next to it on our records which indicate a high chance of being accepted. This won't affect your scores at all, but gives us a better idea of your strengths. I hear you are really creative with your water magic!" Zack threw the parchment clipboard to the ground, and readied himself atop a flat grass mound. The tall blue and white tent was next to the wall, and beyond, was a grassland filled with small hills and flowers.

After being mansplained the idea of blocking and countering, Zack began throwing light punches at an tolerable speed until increasing it to a speed Elijah was not able to defend. It wasn't the actual speed of the punch, but the time in between different strikes that threw him off.

During the training, Elijah was hit lightly in the nose and shoulder several times, while also having each and every one of his counters blocked like it was nothing. The Blindfold the man had on was very similar to the Protector that swung his sword like an angelic figure. Very likely, the man had an ability with either seeing the future, or heightened senses.

Now, here Elijah was, experiencing it for himself.

Palms that would be placed in the perfect spot before he even struck forward, and body movements that would force Elijah to shift his plan of attack. All he had to do was land a punch anywhere on the man to impress him, but it seemed like an impossible task.

"Close."

"Too slow."

"That's obvious."

Zack's words that spelt an obvious intent to make him angry did exactly that. In the end, the chicken fighting had stopped with a sigh expressing how disappointed he was.

"I thought you would impress me today, but you are nothing more than a mage. Do not fret, we all have strengths and weaknesses, and your strength most definitely relies on the water spells you cast..." Zack paused. "Tell me Elijah, what is your opinion on the war that is going on?"

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"Huh? I mean... I don't know much about it besides the news articles I have read freely."

"I see... Do you know what we are fighting for?" Zack asked.

"No, I do not." Elijah's ears began to perk up.

"Well, the top brass have stated many times that we are fighting against the people who want us dead. We want no part of the war that is coming, yet they insist on sending attack forces to our lands every now and then. Apparently, we were in something known as a stalemate for thousands of years. And now, the war is truly beginning with only shots being taken from the other side..."

"I tell you this because I want you to know that the Paladin you want to become will not get you anywhere besides fighting a war the kingdom had never wanted to fight. Being that you have a water affinity, your specialties could be used elsewhere. But... it is not my place to judge. Do what you want, and just make sure to take care of your mind..."

"After all, we have Peacekeeper's every year who resort to committing crimes in their own kingdom because of the sanity they have lost..."

While Elijah was walking back towards the tent, he began to brush over the knowledge he had just received. A war that they never wanted to fight was the biggest fact that pieced together many dots in his mind. Albeit, leaving the biggest question of them all standing alone.

What are our oppressors fighting for?