Dustbender 004 (ATLA)

Terrah was absolutely stunned by what had just occurred. 

First, he encountered corrupt guards, something that happened both in stories, and real life. 

Then it was resolved just as easily as it began. There were no courts involved, and all it took was for one big man to say a few words, and swing his polearm. 

It just went to show how important strength was in this world. Back on Earth, even trained MMA fighters could get taken out by two or three strong dudes who didn't know how to fight if they rushed him. However, the Avatar universe, martial artists and benders were like walking guns compared to the average person. Guys like Boomi could literally solo a thousand people. 

Hell, Old Man had said that Guan Yu had killed 10,000 during one singular battle, that was crazy! 

What was even crazier is that Guan Yu was here in the first place! Looking sort of like his Dynasty Warriors appearance, the middle aged man was an absolute legend. Ranking somewhere in the top 5 most powerful/skilled warriors of that era, it was insane to think that he was Toph’s uncle! 

Honestly speaking, it almost deterred him from pursuing her. If he didn't have a system, he'd probably be content to stay as Old Man's lackey farmboy. But with what he'd learnt in these short two weeks, there was no turning back now. 

He now had an ambition other than grind levels like there was no tomorrow. 

To win Toph’s heart, and to reform this province so that shit like what happened to him never happened to someone else. A man should never face prison time simply because the corrupt government officials wanted to rob him of his money. 

Coming to this realization, and having something to strive for other than just to get stronger, or chase the booty, Terrah almost walked face first into one of the soldiers that were accompanying Guan Yu. 

“My Lord's punishment.” The soldier handed over 5 silver pieces. 

“What's this?” Terrah questioned. 

The man glanced at him as if he were slow. “...the fines.” He then followed after Guan Yu. 

Terrah was quick to pocket the money, and move on. 

He was stared at by quite a few people, pointed at, and whispered about, but after walking half a mile, the sea of people erased his presence, and he was just another guy going about his life. 

During his walk along this major artery within the city, he saw all the major services: barbers, healers, blacksmiths, tailors, jewelers, bakers, schools, martial arts/bending academies, everything a thriving city needed. 

In search of rare ingredients, he came across a wide open area filled with bright orange tarps. 

Eyes going wide, Terrah caught sight of a few flying bison, and some people with blue arrow tattoos on their palms and foreheads. 

Clad in robes that one might find on an ancient buddhist monk, these were unmistakably Air Nomads! 

“Keep it moving, dungcrawler.” Some kid insulted Terrah, and pushed past him. 

Realizing he was stalling the foot traffic, Terrah stepped off the main street, and entered this exotic looking area. 

In Gaoling, space seemed to be a premium, and most buildings were extremely close, leaving narrow alleys in between. By contrast, this place was both figuratively and literally a fresh breath of air. 

Terrah couldn't believe that there were Airbenders alive, shouldn't they all be wiped out due to the Fire Nation's sneak attack 100 years ago? When Sozin's Comet passed by, it gave the Firebenders a 10x buff to their power, transforming even low level mooks into B tier threats. 

Scratching his chin, Terrah thought about it, and actually didn't find their survival all that strange. 

For one, they had giant animals the size of a bus that could fly. The Airbenders could also glide. 

Secondly, the Air Nation was spread across 3 islands in different corners of the world, and off the north-western coast of the Earth Kingdom. 

If one looked at a world map, two of those islands were sort of near the Fire Nation island, but the northern and eastern lands were days away from the Fire Nation. The comet was only in the sky for a day, it was unbelievable for the Fire Nation navy to sail across an ocean in 24hrs. 

When put that way, it didn't make any goddamn sense how all the people from the Air Nation died in the original series. 

“Come, come, young Earthbender, Heaven has brought you to my enclave. Please come forward.” A skinny, ridiculously tall bearded middle aged-to elderly-man dressed like a Tibetan monk curled a long gnarled finger, and patted on some rugs beside him. 

Surrounding the old man, a group of people dressed in blue, orange, green, and beige sat in a semicircle, there was even a woman wearing red! Terrah was astonished to discover that they were all citizens from across the four Elemental Nations. 

Looking at the older man, Terrah saw a [???] hovering above his head, and instantly became vigilant. In fact, he seemed sort of familiar…was this guy Zhang Jiao, the leader of the Yellow Turban rebellion?!?! 

“Sorry, I was lost, and was just looking around, I won't bother your meeting any further.” Terrah feigned embarrassment, and slowly backed away. 

“You were very courageous confronting those thieves at the gate, young Earthbender. Leave if you wish, Heaven shall see us meet again. Before you go, however, I see that you have a Just heart. Here, take this.” Zhang Jiao said with a deep, charismatic voice. He then reached into his sleeve, and with the twirl of his finger sent a scroll into Terrah's hands. 

Catching it by instinct, Terrah saw that it was a scroll depicting an Airbender attack! Thanks to Uncle Iroh-a character from Avatar-he knew how valuable martial arts from other bending styles were. Iroh, a Firebender, learned how to redirect lightning thanks to studying a Waterbender scroll. 

As his Dustbending was sort of adjacent to Airbending, this scroll would likely be a huge boon! 

This was a big gift! 

…however, the Airbender gave off some serious cult-like vibes. The people listening to him looked like they had all drunk the kool-aid. If he really was that same guy-who in the three kingdoms started the Yellow Turban rebellion-then Terrah wanted nothing to do with him! 

By accepting this gift, would he be obliged to return the favor at some later time?...but it was something really important to his development! 

Deciding to accept this scroll, Terrah mustered up his courage, and faced this [???] being. 

“Thank you elder.” Terrah bowed without cupping his fists. 

The man seemed to notice this quirk of Terrah's, but didn't mention it. 

“No need to thank me, young man. The Way of Peace provides for all those in need.” Zhang Jiao smiled, and then began to lecture to his followers. 

Leaving the Airbender district, Terrah felt like he had almost been recruited into something dangerous. 

He didn't know the creep's name, and he didn't want to. Shivering in place, Terrah felt as if that bearded guy could see right through him. As if that aura of mysticism that surrounded him wasn't an act. 

….considering that spirits actually existed, it made Terrah wonder. 

Shaking his head, Terrah put the encounter to the back of his mind, and then decided to go ingredient hunting. 

Traveling through the market, he bought all sorts of spices, rice, oils, wines, and other stuff necessary for cooking. 

His Culinary skill seemed to help him when choosing ingredients, because 9/10 times when he picked something up, he could tell if it was diseased on the inside, old, or if it had been infested with insects. 

After spending a few hours collecting his goods, Terrah made contact with a delivery service, and using the 3 of the silvers he had been given by Guan Yu's soldier, he scheduled to have the cart full of goods off to his farm five hours from now. 

With the transport company holding all the stuff he had bought, Terrah asked the people if there was any Royal Rumble in town, or any underground fighting arenas. 

Since he wanted to hide his identity at that kind of place, he bought himself a white kitsune mask that had red highlights, and a cheap brown cloak with his remaining 2 silvers. 

After buying those two accessories, he then sat inside a park, and began to study the airbending scroll. Unfortunately, he wasn't the Avatar, and couldn't suddenly start wielding all four elements. However, he could take inspiration from the moves.

From what he gathered, this was a breathing exercise meant to expand the lungs, and make Airbending through the mouth easier. 

To Terrah, this function was useless, however, he could see that it would help him with his martial arts. By being able to take in more air, he could enhance his stamina. Anyone who had exercised had at one point ran out of breath, from what he could tell, this technique would significantly reduce the rate at which he became fatigued. 

Whilst it wasn't offensive, Terrah was just fine with that. In fact, he couldn't be more pleased, as he was lacking any skills that ‘buffed’ him.

Following the instructions, he received a string of [+1 exp] notifications, letting him know that he was on the right track, but that he hadn't really started. 

Closing his eyes, and entering a meditative pose, Terrah spent half an hour repeating this breathing technique, and finally had a minor success. 

A clear, fresh breath entered his lungs, and Terrah felt as if he had just eaten a mint. 

[+100 exp] 

Glancing at the notification, Terrah saw that this exp went directly into his [Physical Body Training]. 

Considering the lungs were a part of the body, this made sense. Nodding his head, Terrah decided he would train this breathing exercise for a few more hours, and then make for the colosseum. 

Once midday rolled around, Terrah found himself entering a casino, then going down some stairs into an underground colosseum. 

Terrah's purpose for coming down here was to gather more fighting experience, and to level up his skills. He discovered that when he was sparring with Toph, everything improved waaay faster than when he did something on his own. Terrah figured that not only did the system reward the difficulty of the task with bonus exp, but it also rewarded extra exp based upon the danger. 

Thus, coming to the colosseum made the most sense. If he just trained on the farm, and only sparred with Toph, he would learn a lot, but ultimately, he would be limiting himself. By fighting the vast plurality of people, he would learn how to counter other techniques, as well as get a feel for how levels translated to actual power. 

Lastly, fighting here would be the best place to begin his claim to fame. Remaining low-key and out of the limelight was all well and good, but with his ambitions, remaining as some unknown wasn't on the table. 

Advancing into the underground chamber, it was lit up by the same crystals that were in the underground cellar back at the farm. 

The roar of the crowd was astonishingly loud, and the cavern Terrah found himself in was huge. It probably compared in size to a major sporting arena from Earth. 

Guards dressed in sharp black outfits lazily smoked cigarettes, and ushers in clothing reminiscent of old fashioned movie theater uniforms directed the flow of traffic. 

Seeing him dressed up in his silly attire, a guard laughed at him, and pointed him towards a line where other participants were gathering. 

As he arrived at the front of the queue, an overweight lady with too much makeup on lazily looked up at him. 

“Ya got a stage name, honey?” 

“Vagabond.” Terrah replied. 

“Trying to chase after the Blind Bandit craze, huh? It's your funeral.” The lady shrugged, wrote something down, punched it with a stamp and then handed him a token. 

“Take this to the blue cave, and speak with a handsome dark skinned man, he runs those grounds. Your first match will be a group qualifier. If you win, come back to me, and then we'll talk about placing bets. Next!” 

Taking the token, Terrah followed her instructions, and entered a side passage where blue colored crystal dominated the ceiling. 

Within this area, there were all sorts of athletic people working out, practicing moves, sparring with one another, etc. He even saw an Airbender and a couple of Waterbenders down here. 

In terms of level, most people were in their teens, about a dozen in their 20's, less than four in their 30's, and a single person at level 40. 

Generally speaking, this was quite impressive. The average person he saw on the street didn't make it past level 9, and most soldiers weren't above level 15. The combat potential in this room wasn't insignificant. 

As he was analyzing the people down here, a tall, buff dark skinned charismatic looking dude-who was probably a member of the desert nomads from the Great Desert-left a barstool counter, and swaggered up to him. Set at level 32, his expression carried the hint of a mocking smile.

“Ah, fresh meat, I can practically smell the bitch in you. Walk in here with a cloak on and a kitsune mask? You're just asking to get shanked.” The man said, and took Terrah's token without asking. “Vagabond, huh? Well, let's hope you live up to that name. Well go on up that path right there, fresh meat, your match is about to start!” The level 32 man quickly said, and then roughly shoved the token into Terrah's chest. 

Terrah silently stared at this guy through the holes in his mask. Who the fuck was this guy, and why was he so rude? 

“Hey, hey, don't just stand there fresh meat! Get through this, and maybe I'll give you a little respect. As for who I am, well that doesn't really matter unless you can survive!” The man chuckled, and then turned away from Terrah to go to a nearby bar. 

“Better follow his instructions, fresh meat. If you miss your call, they'll break your arm for wasting their time.” An overly muscular woman with faded Airbender tattoos said walking by, and slapped his ass as she moved past him. “Hm, you've got a strong body, you should do just fine.” The buff lady at level 28 savagely grinned, then left to lift weights. 

Terrah shook his head, stunned by the queer atmosphere going on in this underground fighting arena. 

He supposed people who fought for fame and money thought differently from average folks. It wasn't as if Terrah was one to talk either, as he was wearing a mask and cloak. 

Letting out a sigh at the strange characters he found himself around, Terrah went to the alcove that the first guy had pointed him towards. 

Inside, there was a see-through iron gate blocking his way to the entrance of the arena. There was also a long line of dark, dried blood leading from the arena into this alcove. 

Honestly speaking, he had a few butterflies in his stomach, but after sparring with Toph the other day, he was pretty confident in himself. 

Psyching himself up, he took a deep breath, and shortly afterwards, the gate in front of him dropped open, at the same time, a gate inside the alcove behind him slammed shut, eliminating any means of escape. 

Stepping into the arena, Terrah saw that the walls around the area were all made of metal, and there were thousands of people shouting, cheering, and jeering from within the stands. 

“Good people of Gaoling City, today is a special event. Four new challengers have entered the arena with the hopes of joining our illustrious institution!” An announcer shouted, his voice boomed across the arena, exciting the crowd. 

“The rules are simple: Bleed, cripple or knock your foe unconscious until there is only one man standing! Fighters, claim your glory!” The announcer roared, and then a horn sounded, signalling the beginning of the event. 

‘Well, at least this isn't a death match.’ Terrah sarcastically remarked to himself. 

Scanning the arena, he saw that his four opponents were exiting holes in the walls from a NSWE position, and the opponents on his left and right were equidistant from him. 

The guy on his left carried a spear, and was level 10, the one on the right had a pair of twin swords at 13, and the last one across the arena from him was also at 15 without any weapons. 

With his [Earthbending] at level 17, and [Physical Body Training] at 14, he was feeling rather confident, but that didn't mean he could be arrogant. 

‘Plow the fields.’ Terrah thought to himself, and started to ‘ice-skate’ on the dirt towards the level 10 spear wielder. 

“Haaah!” The spear wielding man roared, and charged at Terrah. 

Ripping four fist-sized stones out of the ground, Terrah condensed them to half that size, and added a bit of a sharp edge to their sides. 

Flinging his hand forward, these rocks blasted towards his enemy. 

The man was somewhat impressive, as he blocked two of them, then dodged the third. However the fourth hit him in the shin with a sickening crunch. 

Staggering forward, the spear wielder desperately shoved his weapon at Terrah, but Terrah simply glided around him, and with his superior mobility, pelted the spearman in the back of the head with a regular rock, knocking him down. 

Terrah hoped he didn't kill this random guy, as based on the quality of his clothes, he was probably really poor, and was only entering this arena out of desperation. Now of course he would have no qualms killing someone who came after his life, but this was a bloodsport. There was no need to murder someone over a few coins. 

Seeing that the spearman had stayed down, Terrah moved on to the other two, who were still fighting one another. 

It was an Earthbender chucking one big rock at a time, and a twin swordsman dodging them repeatedly. Both seemed really fatigued, as if they had done these same moves again and again. 

Terrah shook his head, forgetting just how basic low level benders were with their techniques. Honestly, he had to thank Old Man later with a special meal for what he had taught him. Watching this Earthbender pull up a melon-sized rock again and again was getting embarrassing, and the swordsman couldn't even cut it in half, could he even call himself a martial artist?! 

The two of them were so engrossed in their battle, that they didn't notice Terrah until it was too late. 

Hitting them both in the side of the head with a rock, Terrah knocked them unconscious. 

As soon as that happened, a horn sounded, and the gates opened back up. A handful of men carrying stretchers ran onto the scene, and began to carry the losers away. 

Walking back towards the blue alcove, Terrah overheard the announcer making some parting remarks. 

[Give it up for Vagabond! It looks like the Blue Badger-Monkey's have recruited a new ace!] 

Terrah ignored the wave of cheering in favor of seeing how much exp he had grinded. 

[Earthbending lvl 17: 150,000/400,000] 

Considering he entered Gaoling with about 100,000 exp, this was a pretty nice boost. He was in the arena for less than 20 minutes, this same amount that he earned took about an hour of labor back on the farm. 

Arriving at the back of the tunnel, that buff dark skinned guy from earlier tossed a tiny bag of coins at him. 

“Welcome to the Blue Badger-Monkey's, fresh meat, I'm Azir. The next time you fight for the arena, I'll coordinate who you're up against. I look forward to your performance.” Azir licked his lips in a perverted manner, and then walked away.

‘OH HELL NO!’

Terrah felt his back shiver, and almost swore off the arena altogether due to this encounter. However, the exp gains and real life combat experience were more important than worrying about that creep's gaze. 

Besides, he really wanted to climb the ranks, and defeat Toph in an official match. It was one thing to spar with her once a week, but that pathway severely limited his growth. Additionally, based on the sight of the troops drilling outside Gaoling, and Guan Yu seemingly preparing to set out, war might visit this city in the future. 

Whilst he didn't want to get caught up in some foreign war, it would be different if Toph actually became his lover. Since her father was the governor of Gaoling Prefecture, Terrah wouldn't abandon his new family to the wolves when he had the power to fight. 

Of course, he had to romance the difficult tomboy first. 

Now that would be a difficult prospect. 

Shaking his head, Terrah left the colosseum, took off his disguise in an alleyway, and went to the cart renting service. 

As he set off for the farm, unbeknownst to him, a cadre of thirty men were trailing behind.

“You had better be right, little Ding.” The leader of the group-a tough looking man with an axe tattooed on his wrist-said in a harsh voice. 

“I did, I swear he said to Lord Guan that he lived at a farm that raised dragon-potatoes!” A diminutive rat-like man held up a hand to show his honesty. 

“Hmph, very well. With those dragon-potatoes, we'll be rich beyond measure.” The leader murderously grinned. 

“The strengthening effects from them might even cure your erectile dysfun-” the rat-like subordinate got out before he was punched in the throat. 

“For loot and money!” The leader cheered. 

“Loot and money!” 

The other 28 men shared this grin with one another, and eagerly stalked the young man on the cart.