One Punch Wonder!

Guardian of Earth

Easy Quest

Requirement: None

Reward: 1,000 zeni

You've learned of Kami, the chosen Guardian of Earth, who is also a renowned warrior and teacher. Wishing to see if he would take you as his pupil, you decide to ascend to Kami's Lookout, which lies far above Korin's Tower, in the clouds. Upon arriving you are greeted by a robust black genie who tells you his name is Mr. Popo. Mr. Popo is very polite to you and a very generious host. However, he wishes to test your skills before he permits you to speak to the Guardian Kami. All you have to do is land a punch. Beware, despite his jovial appearance, Popo is a fearsome warrior.


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The Prince had fought against his worst fears, battling evil magic with his courage and intellect successfully piercing the illusion that would have ended his life. Now he was safe to move on to the next phase of his conquest, Korin had promised him that should he survive the Cave of Darkness he would be introduced to Kami The Guardian of the Earth. Novashen had walked from the Cave of Darkness, hope having blossomed in his chest like a spring flower filling him with excitement. He might just be one step closer to going home, he had only need see Korin.

A powerful aura of energy surrounded him as he leaped into the sky, carried higher and higher on the wings of his spiritual energy. He would waste no time in seeking Korin out to get his reward, information as to the whereabouts of Kami! Like a shooting star, he soared through the sky as fast as he could to his destination.

“I need only wait a while longer and I will be one step closer! I can see my Father and siblings again... and her!” Novashen thought to himself, feeling evermore excited. The thought of seeing his lady love once again, caused another surge of energy to flow from his core even speeding him along even faster.

So hardly any time passed, or at least that was the way it seemed to Novashen before he arrived once again at Korin's tower, brown eyes wide with excitement.

“KORIN! WHERE ARE YOU!” he yelled as loud as he could, just as his feet brushed against the white marble ground of Korin's tower once again. His snow white hair swirling around him as the powerful aura that had sped his arrival faded to nothingness.

There was a brief pause, as Novashen was forced to wait for the talking cat to appear and respond to his shouts. Tension was slowly filling his body, he was eager to meet Kami and he did not wish to wait any longer then he had already.

“Novashen, your still alive! I had a feeling you would do okay, after all you have a bit of magic in you I doubt that the magic of the cave would completely fool you,” Korin said, emerging from a shadowy corner that Novashen had been unaware held an entrance of exit of any kind. Apparently there was more to Korin's tower then there seemed.

“I have done as you asked Korin, now tell me where is Kami?” Novashen said, getting straight to the point. Normally his royal upbringing dictated he had better manners when dealing with his elders, but for this case he could no longer hold back, and so he forgot himself.

“So eager to get rid of me all ready? Heh heh, you young peope are so impatient.,” Korin said, feigning his feelings hurt, his whiskers twitching in amusement.

“Well?” Novashen said, his eyes narrowing in annoyance, though he knew he should have expected this kind of behavior from Korin. Ever since he had first met the cat, Novashen had learned that he was mischievous and liked to play with people.

“I wonder if all cats are like this,” Novashen wondered, forgetting that the cat could read his mind.

“Heh, if you don't start showing me some respect I might not tell you where to find Kami,” Korin replied amused after reading Novashen's thoughts.

A tense moment passed between the two, but then as the Prince's face grew ever darker Korin decided it might be best not to joke around with the Prince anymore. After all the young man was in a serious situation, and rightfully wanted to get back to his family.

“Just fly straight up, and you will find Kami's Lookout, be warned he will not see just anybody and you might find yourself challenged when you arrive. Show them the kind of grit you have shown me though and you shall have no problems. It was a pleasure meeting you Novashen, come by again when things are less serious for you,” Korin said, giving the young Prince a respectful nod as he pointed into the sky to indicate where Novashen should go next.

“Thank you Korin, you have no idea what this means to me,” the tension that had been filling his body faded at that moment, and Novashen managed to remember himself enough to give Korin a bow of respect. “If I can I will see you again,”

Those were his final words, as he did not wait one moment longer to leap into the sky an aura of energy even larger then the one before erupting into existence around his body. He was going his top speed higher and higher into the air. Strangely enough a white beam of marble now extended into the sky as if showing him the way, but that had not been there before.

“It seems Kami shows the way to his home only to those who are invited guests,” Novashen concluded thoughtfully, he willed himself closer to the marble beam using it as his guide to his destination. “I wonder what Kami will be like, and I wonder what challenge they have in store for me.”

Korin in the meantime smiled as he watched Novashen take to the sky, the psychic cat knew only too well just what returning home meant to him. He could still feel the powerful aura of the Prince's emotion even as he flew farther and farther away, it hardly diminished.

“Mr. Popo had better be careful with this one, he might have to break a sweat to give him a challenge,” Korin thought, a sly smile on his face at the thought of seeing Mr. Popo challenged so.

“Not much farther now,” Novashen thought, his enhanced vision had spotted the bottom of Kami's lookout, causing him to adjust his flight pattern to go upwards and on an angle, he did not want to hit into the Guardian's tower head first and possibly damage it.

Coming up over the rim of the tower, his eyes scanned the area checking for inhabitants that would be the Guardian. His first scan showed him the many small gardens that grew at the top, they all showed signs of careful and constant attention as the plants seemed to be quite healthy. Further back stood a tall building with a tower extending above, oddly enough a clock that did not tick adorned it's face, all of the buildings seemed to be made from the same white marble that the rest of the construction had been.

“I wonder who built this originally,” Novashen thought too himself, finding it strange that such architecture could safely exist so high in the sky without toppling over and destroying the small village that sat at it's base.

Gently he landed in the middle of the look out, casually looking around for a sign of someone living. Strangely his sensors did not pick up any readings, which according to Korin should not have been as Kami was supposed to have been in residence.

“Maybe they have magic to mask themselves,” Novashen mused, walking around the lookout and taking some time to bend over the gardens admiring the beauty of each plant.

“I see you like my work, o ho!” the voice came from behind Novashen, startling the Prince. Though the tone he heard was jolly and friendly. Giving him the impression that it was not a hostile person that he faced, that and he had not been attacked while his guard was down.

Carefully, the Prince rose from his crouched position turning as he did to face the voice that he had heard. Though the man he saw was surprising, with pitch black skin, thick red lips, black eyes and pointed ears, a white piece of cloth was wrapped neatly about his head, a red ruby in the middle.

“You must be Kami, it is a pleasure to meet you sir,” Novashen immediately said without thinking, bowing before the strange black man.

“Oho! I am not Kami, I am his Guardian Mr. Popo!” the jolly man replied, sounding not in the slightest amused by the mistake, but neither was he upset. “But you must land one punch on me if you would like to see my Master,”

“One punch is it?” Novashen asked, though the question was rhetorical. His tone was that of a man distracted by a bug, not that he did not respect Mr. Popo but the man did stand in his way.

For several moments Novashen stood as still as a statue, the only thing moving were the hairs on his head as the wind blew through them. His sensors were busy gathering as much data about the man in front of him as possible, trying to gauge the exact strength of the obstacle that lay in front of him.

How much of his own power would it take? What did he have to do to get through this challenge and meet the one who could send him home? Those were the questions racing through his mind at the moment, as he did not want to go into a fit of rage and accidentally destroy the tower or hurt Mr. Popo, but he would not let this man stop him either.

“Be ready Mr. Popo I am not going to hold back!” Novashen yelled, a surge of energy bursting forth from his very core to surround him in a fiery aura. Though the occasional cackle of black energy could be seen as well, though Mr. Popo could not tell what the ominous energy meant.

Then the fight was on, Novashen surging forward to throw a left hook at Mr. Popo, the Prince's hair was whipping wildly in the wind, his robes swirling around him as he moved. Mr. Popo was no ordinary opponent though, and calmly he managed to side step the oncoming punch throwing out a hand to gently push Novashen backwards.

“Oh ho! You have power but you do not have focus,” Mr. Popo said his tone was still jovial, and his smile friendly though there seemed to be more intensity behind his gaze now.

Recovering quickly by sending a small surge of energy bursting behind him, Novashen charged forward once more, his eyes scanning Mr. Popo's movements, watching every muscle, every micro movement to better understand his foe. Lighting fast, he snapped a series of kick's off at Mr. Popo aiming for various parts of the strange man's body and again he was thwarted as Mr. Popp easily knocked each kick aside finally doing a small twist with Novashen's foot to send him stumbling to the ground on his butt.

“Your quite good Mr. Popo...” Novashen said, his voice trailing off for a moment he was not letting frustration get in his way, he just needed to land one blow.

“I should have his movements down now, all I have to do is catch him ever so slightly off guard,” Novashen thought, slowly piece by piece his sensors had been sending data to his mind allowing him to retrain his instincts to allow him to better predict Mr. Popo's movements. Now he was ready.

Sweeping his legs out at Mr. Popo's own unprotected legs, the Prince sought to send his foe swiftly to the ground as well, but as he had thought would happen Mr. Popo calmly stepped back away from the oncoming feet. That had been what Novashen had been waiting for, gathering a small charge of energy into his muscles allowing it to reinforce the tissue there, he appeared to disappear from sight as he moved only to reappear right behind Mr. Popo his fist colliding softly into the man's back as the man finished his back step.

“You were a small challenge indeed Mr. Popo, and thank you for the learning experience. I hope will not find me rude, but I must meet with Kami as soon as possible, please lead me to him,” Novashen said, calmly stepping away from his defeated opponent. The aura of energy that had surrounded him faded away, the black lighting that had appeared also disappearing.

His moment was at hand, Kami was within his reach and shortly he would meet the man who could forever change his destiny. A warm wind thoughtfully blew through the tower just then, playing with Novashen's hair helping the Prince feel relaxed in spite of his excitement. Not much longer, and he would soon have a way home. He could see his loved ones again, and be free of Earth, though that thought filled him with some sadness as well.

“I have met many great people here, I can only hope they will be fine without me,” Novashen thought as he fell in behind Mr. Popo who had started to walk towards the marble house that sat at the back of the lookout.

Word Count - 2175