Order of the WEB 3

We sped to the monument leaving a trail of dust behind; riding on a lightning was not as easy as it seemed so I had decided to go by foot. It wasn’t easy keeping up with her considering she was not only riding on pure energy, but she didn’t have to deal with constant people attacking her. I dodged, weaved and bobbed to avoid attacks both meant for me and those meant for others. I might not have liked her at the beginning, probably still didn’t, but she was a reliable person to have as a partner.

A few moments earlier…

“Hey you!”

That was the girl from my room; what the hell was she doing here. Her eyes glistened white as lightning crackled beneath her feet. Were her eyes always like that?

“I want to call a truce… What do you think about partnering up?” She asked completely ignoring the fact that there was another person right in front of me.

“Hey! I am going to kill you!” He shouted at her still trying to catch his breath. But she just went on as if he wasn’t even there.

“So, what do you say?” She asked

Well, she’s strong, partnering with her won’t be such a bad idea. Kram said.

“No.” I said as flatly as I could

“What?!”

What?!

“You cocky kid.” She said in disbelief.

Kid! You sure about this? Maybe you should think this through first.

Don’t worry Kram I know what I’m doing.

If you say so kid.

“I don’t need to partner up with you, I think I’ll do fine on my own.” I snubbed, grabbing my cap from the ground and dusting it. She was probably not used to hearing no.

“You think so? I just saved you from being dragged into Nsamanpowmu” She said with a cocky grin. “You think you don’t need me?”

“Hey! How do you know about Nsamanpowmu?” The guy I had been fighting asked, fuming with anger. He had returned to his normal state.

What were they talking about? What was Nsamanpowmu?

That explains everything. How can a mere human-

What do you mean Kram? What are they talking about?

I’ll explain everything to you later kid.

“Why me?” I asked her. She must have had a reason.

“Well, let’s just say I have a feeling about you… and by that I mean both of you, and I don’t mean that brainless tin man over there.” She said with a knowing smile on her face.

Could she mean you?

Yeah. That girl must have the eye.

What eye? I asked.

The eye of Okomfo Anokye.

But how is that possible?

I don’t know kid, but you’ll have to partner up with her if you want to know.

“Alright, but if I feel you are working an angle; we will kill you.” I warned her.

“Oooh… I actually believe you. Though I’d still love to see how that goes; for both of us” She responded. I could have sworn I saw a flash of lightning in her eyes.

“So, shall-“ She was interrupted by the descendant of the Royal Guard family.

“Hey! Don’t act like I’m not here- I’m talking to you bitch!” He shouted hauling a slab of concrete from the rubble at her.

“WHAT – DID – YOU – CALL – ME?!” She screamed catching the rubble with one hand which disintegrated at just her touch. Lightning crackled around her crazily.

Now…

We had gained some extra cowries on our way to the monument. I had exactly 190 points right now, she had 370. We had made it past the place you could call a battlefield, there was barely anyone where we were at the moment. We had to get to get to the monument and quickly.

She descended from the skies and ran by my side, she was still fast on land. Each step she took her feet sparked with electricity.

“We should be there soon.”

“Alright.” I was getting excited, I couldn’t wait to make it to the next round.

“There will probably be an ambush waiting for us there.” She said, not falling behind by even a single pace.

“An ambush?”

“Yes. Think about it, instead of fighting where everyone else is, why not wait patiently at the monument for them to come to you; that way there’s a less chance of losing your cowries.” She explained. It made sense; it was a solid plan.

“But isn’t it risky; those who make it to the monument won’t be pushovers. Considering they survived to that point. Case in point.” I said pointing at her.

“Flattery? I underestimated you kid. But you’re right. It could only mean one thing; they will not be any pushovers either.” She was serious this time. Then a smile crept on her face.

“What is it?” I had to know.

“You will fight them.” She said without hesitation.

“What?”

“Yes, I want to see what you are capable of.” She looked at me and winked.

“I already told you I’m not using Kram till the Third Stage.” I shook my head.

“I would be disappointed if you did; I want to see what you are capable of… on your own.” She was persistent. “I saw you use a move earlier on when you took out those annoying spear users and that uncompleted building; it looked like Vitesse, was I right?”

“Yes, it was.” I answered. She smiled and looked ahead.

“How do you know that technique, no mere candidate can pull that off; only title holders and those with affiliations to a royal family know of it and can successfully pull it off.”

“Well, seems you are affiliated to a royal family in some way; based on your own words.” I smiled

“Look who grew smart…“ She chuckled and sped up. “Though I noticed it is far from perfect.” She added

She was right. The average Vitesse had to be at Mach speed at the very least; anything less before an opponent who has mastered it was practically useless.

“I want you to defeat them using Vitesse. If you can do that, this partnership will be well secured.” She looked at me. “Do we have a deal?”

I thought about it for a while.

She does raise a good point kid. That’s the only way you can improve. If you can’t do this without, you aren’t worthy of me, or even being here.

Kram’s words did burn a little, but he was right; and I was sure master knew same that’s why he asked me to refrain from using Kram.

“Deal.” I responded.

“Awesome. We are here; let’s see what you’ve got.”

I went on and sped up leaving her behind; I was sure she had gone back into the skies to observe everything.

The monument came into view; The Monument of Three. The monument that honoured the founders of the Fante land. The Elephant, The Whale and The Hawk.

She was right an ambush waited for us, there were four-no- five of them. One spear user was hiding at least a few hundred yards away; he must be very good.

They seem to have been ready for me. I stopped and surveyed the place again, I felt another presence, I was sure of it. It wasn’t clear but I couldn’t shake of the uneasy feeling of there being a sixth person; as to whether he or she was part of this team, I wasn’t sure.

The four people in front of me looked strong and consisted mostly of weapon wielders. Two sword users and one spear user. I had heard of spear users who were as proficient in close combat as a sword user; maybe he was one. The fourth person didn’t have any weapon on her; at least not one that was visible.

The spear user stepped forward, he was huge. At least twice my height and three times my size. What do they feed him?

“We can do this the easy way; just give us your cowries and get out of here.” He commanded. “However, if you insist on not surrendering, we can’t guarantee your life.”

I didn’t have time for this; I could feel her impatience through the static in the air. I guess he’ll have to go down first. It was time to use all that I had been taught by my master. Bigger opponents can be harder to put down, but not if you know where and how to hit.

Vitesse!

It might not be up to Mach speed, but it was faster than the untrained eye could keep up with. Two sharp jabs behind each knee. Destroy their foundation. Followed by three sharp ones to the temple.

I landed behind him before his body fell to the ground. His fellow team mates had their eyes wide open; probably wondering what had happened during the time they had blinked.

They charged at me, all three of them; they were probably from the same arena as they attacked in a formation. The two male sword users flanked my sides, creating a line of attack for their female partner. It was a good formation since the only way to go was back now that all sides were blocked; which was the original plan. It would have worked against the average opponent; I might not have been as strong as Esi or the lightning user, but I was far from average. And the fact that they were underestimating me pissed me off.

Vitesse!

I lunged at my attacker from the left; just when I was centimetres away from him, I ducked and punched him square in the chin, sending him flying. I felt a crack; without wasting time I propelled myself to the right and landed behind the second sword user, a quick roundhouse kick to his temple sent him hurtling in the opposite direction.

The female attacker in their group stood there in shock. I could see her hands trembling. She suddenly regained her composure and yelled.

“Get him!”

It was a signal to the spear user, I hadn’t forgotten about him; as a matter of fact, I was waiting on him to attack. He was far, which even meant he was probably better than the spear user I encountered earlier. Where was he attacking from…? There! The north-east. He was good; but my master was a far better spear user.

I dashed towards where the spear was coming from. They all probably thought I was crazy; heading for the spear. I saw it clearly, the force behind I was impressive.

Kram! Have you ever wondered what happens if you apply Vitesse on a flying projectile?

You are crazy kid. Kram laughed.

Well, with the master I had, it’s only normal if I am. I couldn’t help but smile.

I stepped on the spear, and spun it with a light tap to the side using my feet. Vitesse! I kicked it back the direction it came from. I landed and watched it disappear into the trees. There was a loud crashing sound, then followed by the rising of dust.

Why didn’t you try this earlier?

Well, I had to meet the right opponent first.

I turned in time to see a screaming girl with twin daggers charging at me. I nearly forgot about her in all the excitement.

“You monster!” She screamed. If only she’d calmed down, she’d be a troublesome opponent; but all her attacks were too wide and obvious due to her frenzied state.

I had to end this now. I didn’t want to hurt her like I did the rest. I knew what it was like to be in her shoes all too well.

Heart Strike!

Her movements froze. She looked at me wide eyed probably wondering what I’d done to make her freeze. I had wondered same when master used it on me the first time.

“You think I’m a monster? Then give up now. Compared to those two ladies, I am nothing. That lightning user showed me that. However, the choice is yours to make. I will take the cowries of your teammates, but I’ll let you keep the ones you have. We all signed up or this after all.”

I walked toward the monument to meet the lightning user waiting for me. She had a huge grin on her face.

“Wow. You are definitely good; better than I might have considered. I think I can tell you my name now; Adwoa Jameson; but you can call me AJ. And your name?” She asked

“Okai, Nana Okai.” I replied.

“Well, now I know the names of who I’m fighting next.” A voice said from behind us.

Somewhere far away and hidden…

“Did you feel that? The strands are trembling with excitement. There’s a new story unfolding. It has been five hundred years since someone worthy showed up. Let the order know things are about to get interesting. There’s a new story to collect; a new tale to tell.” He laughed as he got up from his throne. The stray light showed a tattoo that covered his entire body; the tattoo of a web. “Make that three tales… good! It’s about darn time!”

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

Hi guys, so this is by far the longest chapter yet. It has its fair share of clichés I will admit; but I honestly did enjoy typing it regardless. So we finally get the name of our MC in this chapter. It took too long, but I was trying to find a way to bring in his name such that it flows naturally; I either achieved that here or I Just gave up. I must say thank you to all those supporting the Order of the WEB. I really appreciate your support; and I hope I continue to provide you with even greater content as we go on.

I must admit I particularly enjoyed the ending of this chapter, a lot! I finally got to introduce my favourite character. I am brimming with excitement. I am wondering what the continuation will be about… And what did he mean by three tales? Ah well; we’ll just have to wait and see I guess.

…winging it…

Yours Faithfully,

EverydayGladiator (S.A.A)