Jin was brought into a wide white room. There were windows but it had been subtling covered. It seemed like a training room. Two individual guards awaited him. Jin got his guard up. Previously from what he's seen, these people might not be very well in the head. The two guards wore more loose and combat tailored outfits. To the left was a middle aged man who had his hair pulled back with a few stray strings forming his bangs; you could tell he was trying his very best to hide his receding hairline. He wore a tight long sleeved compression shirt with gloves on. The man was very well built, with his body leaning towards the leaner side.
To the right was a female guard also with the same outfit. She wore a chest guard with her body being lean and slim; it seemed she's more towards the agile side. Her right arm was fully covered with her left arm mismatched and naked. 'Weird fashion choice but okay,' Jin thought. The lady stood still, projecting bad vibes. The man must have noticed this because he immediately broke the ice.
"No need to be so tense shall we? We are not as maniacal as the guard previously," despite looking aged and old the man still sounded passionate. "We don't just simply let anyone join us, you know." He cleared his throat and cracked his knuckles.
"Welcome to the Band of Mercenaries Mr Ibuki! Congratulations on passing through the doors and deciding to hope for the future," he then took out 2 swords and slid one across towards Jin. By visual comparison, Jin could tell his sword was longer.
A sudden sense of dread suddenly came upon Jin, like an evil spirit. He was drawn towards the sword on the ground. "Come to me and I'll give you glory," it said. But Jin had still some sanity left in him and slammed himself back.
"What's this?" he asked, quickly reconnecting with reality.
"The world is always constantly evolving, however no matter the era or trend humanity always settles things with violence. Combat skills and abilities are highly crucial in this world. Whether you like it or not, everything comes down to hands."
"We have to fight? But I have no idea how to fight!?"
The man stared at him like he heard something out of this world; he started laughing uncontrollably.
"Hey, Faye!" He turned to his co-worker. "Get a load of this guy!"
The girl, although nonchalant the whole time, smirked a little smile.
"We never said we had to fight! Plus you acting like we didn't sense the large wave of murderous intent when we tossed you the sword. You're a little killer comedian aren't you?"
Although Jin has barely gotten to know his old self, he knew that, "This would have pissed the shit out of me." He went straight ahead, picked up the sword and slowly ran his fingers through it. He slowly places his fingers individually on the hilt of the sword. One, two, three… Jin counted each gap of the hilt of his long sword. Next, he examined the crevice on the blade of the sword, stroking his fingers across the blade. And finally, the sharpness of the sword. Jin lightly pressed and edged his pressure. Little by little he applied more and more pressure and just when he thought the blade would pierce him he stopped. The man watched in ammusement of Jin as if he discovered a new species of animal.
The man raised his sword and started pacing, orbiting around the room. Jin, like a rat, followed suit. Jin's forehead started to feel swollen, his cheeks started to swell up as well from smiling too much. His chest started to cave into his lungs and his eyes could only focus on the man's eyes; he was the prey. After a 360, the man stopped.
"My name is Viktor, Viktor Logan," Viktor's mood now fully one sided; no jokes, just straight hunting. Jin could feel the air surrounding him being taken over by Viktor's eyes, every single space available locked up. The man went into his position: crouched down with his sword resting by his hip. "Do not hold back."
By the end of those words, Viktor shot forward. Sweat drooled down Jin's cheeks, but he felt calm, oddly calm. He took a deep breath, sucking in all the adrenaline.
"This is exhilarating."
Viktor launched a heavy uppercut, targeting the left side of Jin. Jin held a sword stance with his sword facing to the left.
'This is easy, he wants to break through my posture.'
He crashed into Viktor's sword path, successfully parrying his attack, and Viktor's sword was sent up high. His chest is now fully exposed, but his posture was too protective of his neck; if Jin struck there, Viktor would've had an easy counter. So, Jin was forced into a standard slash into his abdomen. Viktor's shirt slit open like lips, revealing blood and skin.
Jin was surprised by the difficulty set. Within two swings, he had already caused an injury. But Viktor wasn't done, there was still a universe behind those eyes that existed his victory. Viktor swung down low, a vertical slash. Jin could feel the friction between his skin and the hilt of the sword forcefully tore his skin. He could feel his shoulders whizz in pain.
I have to rethink this. He overpowers me in every aspect: speed, power, and combat experience. I need something strong and capable. Something unpredictable.
Jin examined the room quickly, looking for something to turn the tables.
"If I was a real enemy," Viktor said, his voice so full of malice. "You would've been dead."
Viktor pulled his hands back and punched forward. A fiery gas of heat appeared. Immediately the surrounding room illuminated, all the shadows shrieked in fear and went into hiding. The fiery flame ball of gas grew into the size of Viktor's palm. Suddenly a mysterious force, repulsed the ball of fire towards Jin's face. He was so in awe of the magic trick that he was barely able to swipe by the attack.
He quickly used this opportunity to launch a counterattack, striking upwards right at his shoulder blades. An inevitable force grabbed Jin's hand, he could feel the warmth of it. Its individual fingers slowly crept alongside his hand. It pushed the sword upwards, towards the neck of Viktor. Jin gnashed his teeth, clenching it harsh and tough. His eyes widened.
'No, no, NO!' Jin tore apart his brain in his mind, his mental crumbling. For some reason, he could tell that this strike could accidentally kill Viktor. Even though it's a standard duel, Jin still appreciated his opponent. Viktor was dumbfounded as well, you could clearly tell from his frowned eyebrows and his jagged lips,
'Stop this madness please! Somebody! I don't want to kill this man!'