He then sees a new notification. [Leaps and Bounds. Made large improvements in fighting ability]

[NEW ART UPGRADE!]

[NEW POWER UPGRADE!]

[ART REFURBISHMENT!]

The options then appear across the screen for his Art Upgrade.

[OPTION 1: Qi Rush > Qi Burst [For 15 seconds, condensed qi rushes through the body and increases all physical stats by +25. OPTION 2: Dire Leap > Dire Slam [After a large leap, the user can slam one leg into the ground, causing a powerful attack that, if not defended against, can kill in one slam] OPTION 3: Qi Cloaked Palm > Qi Cloaked Claws [Qi formulates a clawed hand cloaking the hand that can be devastating for 30 seconds. Arm Power, Speed and Durability +30%. Power and Speed stat +14. OPTION 4: NONE]

He analyses the different options. He thinks of his fighting style and how these different upgrades can aid him. He obviously will also look at how good the upgrades actually are as well.

He thinks “Such good upgrades! Dire Slam does seem like the way to go though. I might even be stronger than Marcus from Balssop Now! No, that’s a little too much. Maybe..” He chooses Dire Slam and then another notification pops up.

[QI POWER UPGRADE]

OPTION 1: Wind. The user gains access to the wind element. Can be used to enhance arts etc. OPTION 2: Darkness. The power of darkness to enhance one’s qi. Strong power but can affect mental if too much is used. OPTION 3: Lightning. The user gains access to the lightning element. Can be used to enhance arts and other things. OPTION 4: NONE

Tanji is in awe and says “Wow!” He then continues to mutter to himself about the analysis of the new powers. “The darkness power seems quite enticing but that affecting mental thing puts it off quite a bit. Lightning and Wind will both be quite an asset to my fighting style. Wind just doesn’t seem like the damaging element. Lightning seems like a much more potent option to choose. It’s Lightning.” 

He chooses lightning and and he receives a new art right after.

[Brownout. Gives a rush of lightning for 10 seconds that makes the user much stronger. +20 to strength, constitution and defence and +30 to speed.]

After this, the system secretly refurbishes his old and soon futile arts. This makes him an even more formidable fighter. Tanji thinks “This is insane! I can get a 74 speed stat now with a single art! This is insane I’m sure I can beat Mark now! Let’s test this Lightning.”

He raises his hand and reveals his palm. He exhales calmly then he releases qi from his Soul Core. The qi flushes through his body and invigorates it. He controls qi into his palm with his new qi control from over the past few months and then tries to convert such qi into Lightning qi. He focuses and thinks “How do I even do this?” He sees a small trickle of lightning across his palm then a massive outburst of lightning is released.

The lightning flies to the ceiling of his room and outward towards his furniture. He falls back onto his butt and sees the damage to his ceiling and wooden furniture. He sighs and says “Lucky I have that money.” He shakes his palm and thinks “So condensed lightning qi is way too hard to make and impossible to control. I should only use that if I have enough time and if I have to.”

The next day, he prepares for his exam. He has decided to go with Grimcrest Combat School. This school is on the outskirts of Bludby City. The school is 30 minutes out by car and 5 minutes out by train. There are only two rounds of the exam since there are less people entering.

He makes his way there by train and gets there in no time. Once he arrives, he sees a massive white building with a golden gate. There are also several other buildings surrounding it with massive fields. He makes his way through the large, open gate and walks into the building. He goes through the large brown doors to see three registers. He looks around hastily and just goes to the one in front of him. 

He says “Hello, I’m Tanji Bjornulfsson. I’m here for the Second Term Mini-Exam.” The register man types at a super-high speed then says “I’m gonna need the receipt.” He takes out his phone and shows it to him. He glances upon the register and nods. He points to a wooden door to the right of him and says “Right through there.” He nods and takes his phone back. 

He walks through the wooden door and sees a long, glass hall. He walks down the hall and opens the first door that says ‘MAIN HALL’ next to it. He follows the directions displayed on the receipt and sees many people talking and standing in the hall. There are confectionary items and people catering for the students. He sees ogres, werewolves, Branogs and more. He sees several teachers wearing black suits and badges. He then sees a notification on his phone. His screen lags out then the school’s logo is displayed on the screen. Everyone sees this and are surprised that the school even have the power to do this. 

The notification disappears then a voice is heard from the hall. “First Round, Combat. The students will be assigned a match-up on their mobile devices and will be escorted by the Grimcrest Proctor Force. 15 people will advance to the next stage and 10 will be ultimately selected as part of the First-Year Grimcrest Combat Academy Class. Please follow the proctors..” The voice ends and then five proctors start walking to a black door. They open the door then the group walk through the locker-filled halls of the school.