Magic City, North District.

Happo Kendo Hall.

The name of the hall is Bafang, and it is said that it is named because the founder of the kendo hall is superb in swordsmanship and proud of the eight directions.

Although it sounds like a bit of a secondary two, it is undeniable that the number of fixed-section swordsmen who go out of the Hagio Kendo Hall every year is the largest in the entire North District.

At this moment, in the dojo in the Bafang Kendo Hall, two young men in standard white clothes were engaged in a swordsmanship duel under the watchful eyes of a circle of people.

"Bang!"

The long swords made of hardwood collided with each other and made a silent sound, and although their hits on the non-vital parts of the human body were not fatal, they also left a large bruise and unbearable pain.

One of the two people who faced off was tall and had long arms, while the other was relatively shorter and had shorter arms.

In the case of the same level of swordsmanship, the longer the arm, the longer the attack distance, which gives you an advantage in actual combat.

What's more, at this moment, the face of the shorter one still looks very bad, as if he has stayed up all night for several days in a row, and his eyes are almost open.

Congenital conditions are at a disadvantage, coupled with mental malaise, how can it be possible to win?

Therefore, at the moment when the wooden swords clashed, the wooden sword in the hand of the shorter figure was raised high, and the next moment, the wooden sword of the tall figure was pointed in front of his neck.

Looking at the wooden sword in front of him that was only a few centimeters away from his throat, Leo's scattered spirit was a little sober, he lowered the wooden sword in his hand, bowed slightly, and said in a bitter voice: "I lost, Brother Jiang." ”

"Concession."

The tall figure Jiang Tianhao withdrew the wooden sword, also bowed, and answered in a flat voice.

"Jiang Tianhao, win!"

In the crowd, a middle-aged man with a white face and beard announced the outcome of the competition, and then snorted coldly: "Leo, you are really getting better and better." There are still three months left until the finale, and with your state, I'm afraid you won't even be able to pass the qualifiers. ”

"I don't care what happened to you, give you three more days, and after three days, if you're still in this state, I'll cancel your quota for the fixed stage."

"Don't say I didn't give you a chance, huh!"

After the man finished speaking with a cold face, he didn't look at Leo who was going down, and continued to preside over the competition.

In the dojo, except for the people whose names were read to the competition, the rest of the people had different faces, and no one spoke, and the scene was a little calm for a while.

The management style of the Bafang Kendo Gym has always been like this, cold, iron-blooded, the capable are up, and the weak are down.

There is a limit to the number of people who can participate in the swordsman fixed stage tournament at each kendo hall, and the Happo Kendo Hall, as the leading kendo hall in the northern district of the magic capital, has 10 places per year.

For a long time, Leo's swordsmanship level was not at the forefront of the hall, but he was able to show his face at the end of the top ten, so he won a place to participate in the fixed stage competition.

But since a week ago, his condition has deteriorated, and today, he is almost to the point where he can't open his eyes.

This can't help but make some people after the top ten have other thoughts in their hearts.

Leo returned to the audience in despair, and as soon as he sat down, he couldn't help but put his fingers against his forehead and knead them gently.

Tired......

So sleepy......

"Leo, are you sick? Hurry up and find a time to go to the hospital to have a look, I don't think Wang Shifan is joking, if you continue like this, you won't have a place in the fixed stage competition. ”

The person who spoke was a teenager named Antonio who was sitting next to Leo.

He has a rare long pale blonde hair, and he is a hybrid of the Donghuang Alliance and the Iron Eagle Alliance, because both of them have the word "Ao" in their names, so the two of them have been relatively close from the beginning, and they are contemporaries with a better relationship, and they are looking at him with a worried face at the moment.

Hearing this, Leo shook his head slightly: "...... I know, it's fine, just a little sleepy. ”

"Alas......"

Seeing his friend's appearance, Antonio sighed and wanted to say something, but his name was already called below.

Helpless, he could only go down the game first.

……

In the following time, Leo's mental state deteriorated, and he was groggy, and he couldn't even remember when Antonio would come back from the end of the competition.

In a daze, he left the kendo hall alone and returned to his doorstep.

Push open the door.

"Squeak......

The old door made a sour sound as it turned.

Hearing the movement, a slender sound and shadow came out of the kitchen.

Seeing Leo's appearance, she hurriedly came over to help, and said with a distressed face: "Xiao Ao, what's wrong with you, it's really not good, let's go to the hospital again today......"

Leo smiled reluctantly: "I've been there several times, but I haven't checked anything...... Don't waste money, it's okay sister, I'll go to the room and rest. ”

With that, he broke free of his sister's hand and stumbled back to his room.

"Little Ao ......"

Outside the room, her sister Li Fei's hand that wanted to knock on the door was raised and lowered several times, her face full of worry.

……

The goose-yellow light dispelled the darkness.

The furnishings in the room are very simple.

A bed, a set of tables and chairs, a wardrobe, and a poster of a young man winning the National Kendo Championship on the wall, but nothing else.

Leo lay on the bed, his bloodshot eyes looking at the slightly yellowed white ceiling, and his tense nerves eased slightly.

He hadn't slept well for a week since a week ago.

Not long after he fell asleep, he would wake up with nightmares and wake up drenched in sweat.

He couldn't remember exactly what kind of dream it was, but he remembered that in the haze, he kept falling down, falling......

Getting closer to something!

After a few days, not only did his mental state deteriorate to the extreme, but his body also became weak and weak.

For this reason, he also went to the hospital to seek treatment.

But the doctor checked it up and down, inside and out, used all kinds of instruments, spent a lot of money, and finally came to the conclusion that the mental pressure was too great and needed to rest more.

Heh, rest more?

If I could rest, would it still be like this?

went to two hospitals and got the same diagnosis, and he didn't bother to toss anymore.

Leo lay on the bed, a wry smile on his lips.

In other words, it seems like it's my eighteenth birthday......

I didn't expect to spend it in such a way.

He closed his eyes and forced himself to sleep.

Even though he knew that he would be woken up by nightmares soon after falling asleep, he had to sleep.

Just like a person in the desert who is desperately short of water, even if he knows that the water in front of him is seriously polluted, he must drink it.

If you drink it, you may die of illness in the future, but if you don't drink it, you will die now.

Not long after closing his eyes, a deep sleepiness was like a tide, and soon it overwhelmed his consciousness.

……

There was no light, no sound, and in the darkness of the environment, suddenly a heavy smell of decay, stench, and blood poured into the nostrils.

The body that was up and down in the tide seemed to be attracted by some kind of force, and suddenly fell.

That's the general feeling of weightlessness.

I don't know how long it took, Leo's consciousness slowly woke up.

"Are you having nightmares again......"

He muttered, slowly opening his eyes.

But what greeted the eyes was not the familiar yellowing ceiling.

Rather, it was a rusty, dark red iron plate.