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Dustbender 003 (ATLA)
🕑 Added 2025-04-30 17:31:01 +0000 UTCThe 1v1 had gone about as expected.
Terrah was on his back, looking up at the sky, wondering where he was, who he was, and where he was going.
All jokes aside, Toph hit like a fucking sledgehammer, and there was nothing Old Man had taught him that had prepared him for a oncoming, giant fucking rock!
“How do you like the taste of foot, loser?!” Toph gloated in triumph, and rubbed her dirty heel all over his face.
It was pretty gross to be honest, but Terrah wouldn't let her have the satisfaction.
So he licked her.
“Yeow, hey, what'd you do that for, weirdo!” Toph recoiled as if she had been electrocuted.
Terrah tiredly stood to his feet, and turned to the side.
“Care to give any pointers, Old Man?” Terrah sarcastically remarked.
“Pluck the weed.” Old Man calmly replied, and pointed towards Terrah's front.
Turning around, he saw a boulder careening towards his head.
Reacting almost on instinct, he followed the old man's suggestion, and waved his hand at the rock just like he would when pulling out a weed from the ground with Earthbending.
As soon as his hand collided with the boulder, he found that it punched through it as if it were made of styrofoam!
‘Holy shit, Old Man's kung fu mumbo jumbo actually works!’ Terrah internally exclaimed.
“Run the fields!” Old Man sharply ordered.
Terrah moved to the side, and used the dirt kind of like it was an ice rink, which was the same movement he did to water the potato farm and save time!
Dodging out of a series of heavy attacks, Terrah was panting, and knew he had to go on the offense.
Toph seemed to be going easy on him in the name of sparring, so Terrah would take every little pointer he could get!
Clapping his hands, he created a dust storm all around him.
“Soft-hard, condense!” Old Man advised.
Terrah understood immediately.
The dust on its own wasn't very dangerous, but if he did what Old Man suggested, and condensed say a pebble sized rock into dust, well then it would be much more lethal!
Blasting a cloud mixed with hidden sharp rocks at Toph, Terrah lifted a stone a half foot off the ground with his bending, then jumped on it just as a pillar erupted underneath him. Dodging the pain to his backside, Terrah realized he had lost sight of her, she must be beneath him!
“Digging the moat!” Old Man called out.
Following his commands, Terrah excavated large chunks of soil, and caught Toph slightly off guard as she was partially underground.
However, she showcased her superior fighting ability, and reacted instantly. Popping out of the ground, she hit Terrah with an uppercut punch to the chin, sending him flying.
Feeling his teeth slam together, and his brain jostling around, Terrah once more looked up at the stars, this time much worse for ware.
However, the grind towards his Physical Body Training was astronomical.
[+5,000 exp]
[+2,000 exp]
[+4,500 exp]
The act of getting beat, and moving all over the place had really contributed towards the next level!
“Gonna stay down this time footlicker?” Toph asked, and put her foot on his chest this time.
“I don't know, lower your foot, and I'll see if I can get it up.” Terrah joked.
Toph put on a mischievous grin, and actually lowered it right on top of his crotch.
“This where you like it, pervert?”
“Yes? Seems to me like you put it there yourself, Bandit. You went straight from my upper chest to aaall the way down south. I wonder which one is the real pervert between us.” Terrah hesitantly responded, not liking the dangerous looking grin on her face, but at the same time, she was really hot, so he answered honestly.
Toph seemed to like this response, then flicked her heel, and kicked him away.
Ragdolling in the dirt, Terrah caught himself into a slide, and squatted down low. All thoughts of sex left his mind as he narrowed his eyes.
“Get back up, Vagabond. You're way too weak to even smell my feet let alone lick them! We're not done training until I say we’re done!”
Terrah wordlessly began to put into practice all the skills Old Man had taught him, and went all out.
He relentlessly went at her again and again. Each time he did, he got his ass handed to him, but he also came out of each scuffle just a little bit stronger, and more skilled.
By the time the Beifong carriage was coming around to pick Toph up, holes cratered the dirt road, a dusty haze coated the sky, and makeshift walls with holes in them were littered all over the place.
Terrah was on the ground, his entire body a mass of purple and black bruises. He couldn't see due to his swelling black eyes, and despite the fact that he could barely move, he didn't give up.
“You lost, Vagabond. You'd better improve by next week. Losers of your caliber have no business learning under the Old Man and wasting his time.” Toph said above him, just out of reach.
“Hheyy Baandit.” Terrah slurred. “You gooot something in your eye!” Terrah-knowing she would come close to gloat-had prepared a small trap, and was holding dust in the air right in front of her face. When she came close, he flicked his finger, and it hit her eye quickly.
For that brief second of distraction, he painfully rose from the dirt, and roared his pain into power.
His knuckles collided with Toph's chin, and then he collapsed onto his back as he exhausted all of his remaining energy.
“Gotcha.” Terrah smiled, and then passed out.
~~~~~~~~~~
Holding onto her quickly bruising chin, Toph rolled Terrah over, and saw that he was unconscious.
“You're really teaching him then, Master Zhong?” Toph asked the bearded old man.
“His growth is remarkable. You felt his improvement for yourself, did you not?” Zhong chortled.
Toph blushed, and turned away.
“Still not strong enough.” Toph sighed.
“You are worried about your uncle, and cousin's response, hrm? You have only met the boy twice now. So certain are you that he is the one?” Zhong sat down on a large rock next to her, and offered a cloth full of healing salve.
Toph wordlessly took it, then, instead of applying it to her face, started to run down Terrah's muscles.
“I don't know, but he doesn't treat me like a glass doll that will break at the smallest touch. He's handsome, a little funny, kind of stupid…and he can really cook!” Toph explained herself as she spread the medicine.
“Tomorrow, Vagabond will go to town to buy fresh ingredients with a large pouch of coins. We shall see the measure of his character whether he returns or not.” Zhong slowly spoke.
“Come on Master, when it's just us, you can use his name.” Toph said in dissatisfaction.
“Indeed, Lady Beifong?” Zhong replied in a meaningful tone.
“That's not what I-”
Zhong stood up, and muffed her hair, interrupting Toph.
“Vagabond doesn't know my name or my past. As far as I'm concerned, he's a drifter who owes me money.” Zhong said, and then picked Terrah up, then carried him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
“Oh now that's ostrich-horse crap, and you know it.” Toph accused. “I think you're just a lonely bitter old man!” Toph exclaimed, and then quickly put a hand over her mouth as she realized she said something bad.
The Beifong carriage drew near, and Zhong turned his back to Toph to depart for the cellar.
“And you're a lonely girl trapped in a glass house. Yet here we are. Goodnight, Bandit.”
“...goodnight Master Zh-…Old Man!”
~~~~~~~~~
The next day, Terrah awoke to sore muscles, yet was surprisingly okay despite the beating he had taken. He could only chalk his swift recovery up to the physics of this world, and his physique.
Considering his [Physical Body Training] had advanced from level 10 to 14 thanks to one spar, he'd say any level of soreness was worth it. With results like that, he wouldn't mind getting tossed around by Toph. Then, after a lot of grueling workouts, he would be the one to toss her around.
Terrah pervertedly grinned to himself, and then got out of bed. Looking at his work clothes set aside, he saw that they were torn, and stinky.
“...”
Shaking his head at how filthy they had become, Terrah washed himself off, and changed into his only other clean set.
It was times like this that he wished he had a bit of money. Owning more than two shirts and two pants would be nice.
Sighing to himself, Terrah left his room, and prepared food like usual.
As he finished eating, he gave Old Man an expectant look.
“Go.” Old Man gruffly intoned, not looking up from his meal.
“Thanks, Old Man. I'll be back!” Terrah promised, grabbed the red colored coin pouch, and then left the cellar.
On the way out of the farm, he said a quick goodbye to Star, and then was on the road.
Breathing in the cool dawn air, Terrah admired the pinkish clouds on the horizon, and the verdant hills that surrounded this valley.
This was his first time stepping foot outside of the same 4 square miles of land since transmigrating more than 2 weeks ago. He was a little nervous, but also felt like a boy walking to school for the first time. It was a liberating feeling.
As he drew nearer to Gaoling, he saw that it was east of a massive river. The body of water carried with it many ships. From his scant knowledge of geography, he knew that Gaoling was in the south-eastern section of the Earth Kingdom, and was linked to the ocean via this waterway.
As for the city itself, its walls were massive, and it also had an inner city where a second set of square walls separated the rich from everyone else.
During his journey from the small paths and dirt roads of the farms, he stepped onto an official government road paved with fine bricks. Many other travelers walked this path alongside him, but most of the people he saw were farmers carrying bags, or riding carts full of crops.
For a second, Terrah considered simply asking these farmers what they were selling, to see what he could scrounge up. However, Terrah wanted to get a feel for the prices, and lay of the land.
Besides, how boring would it be to go out and come back without stepping foot in the city?
Drawing near to Gaoling, the noise began to pick up as the city of hundreds of thousands came to life.
An army unit was training formations outside the walls, and their shouts were very lively.
Noticing a line beginning to form at the city gates, Terrah joined the que.
When he got to the front, a guard poked his overly large coin pouch with the butt of his spear, then glanced at his workers attire.
“5 silver pieces entry fee.” The guard demanded in a lazy tone.
Glancing at the four other guards glancing ‘slyly’ at one another, Terrah saw this as the shakedown that it was.
Now of course he could spend the money now, but Old Man had emphasized that this money was only to be spent on ingredients.
Terrah considered himself a man of his word, and would not compromise.
“I wonder what the Beifong's would say if they saw such blatant daylight robbery.” Terrah tutted, trying to evoke some uncertainty and fear into their hearts.
“You're a tan skinned day laborer who robbed a noble of their wealth. I have reason to suspect violence was involved. Search him, men.” The initial guard sternly ordered.
Terrah was a little shocked at how the situation went from 0 to 100, the guy threw away all pretenses, and didn't even bother to check if he was the servant to some rich guy.
Frankly, Terrah was a little disappointed. He couldn't say he was surprised exactly, because Toph's dad was a wuss, so the people under him likely took advantage of that weakness to be corrupt. That said, did shit like this have to happen to him?
As the guards approached him with barely concealed grins, Terrah stared them in the eyes, and stood ramrod straight.
Noticing that the highest level amongst them was at 15, he felt pretty good at his chances of escape.
As they drew near, Terrah clapped his hands, unleashing a dust storm right into their eyes.
In the ensuing chaos that followed, he slipped past them into the city, and disappeared into the early morning crowd.
“Stop, thief! Stop the man with the beige shirt and red bag!” A voice hollered.
Terrah quickly looked back to see if he was discovered, and when he faced forward again, he collided with an absolute mountain of a man, and then fell backward.
Glancing up at the dude, Terrah saw the guy had an incredibly long black beard, was dressed in a tasteful green robe, and that he towered over even the likes of Old Man. In his hands was a giant polearm known as a guandao.
The angle of the sun made it difficult to see this man's face, but his default setting made him out to look like some ancient god of war.
“L-lord Guan Yu, you've caught the thief!” The guard who had accosted Terrah earlier caught up, and announced.
“Hrm?” Guan Yu leaned down, and inspected Terrah, then glanced at the bag.
“W-we'll be taking him into custody then, thank you, Lord Guan!” The soldier bowed, and then moved to cuff Terrah.
Terrah, recognizing Guan Yu as one of the heroes from the three kingdoms era of China was stunned, but also a little hopeful.
“Lord Guan Yu, I have been wrongly accused! These men, upon seeing my poor attire, demanded I give them 5 silver pieces to enter the city. When I refused, they levied false accusations, and attempted to steal my master's money!”
“Bastard! A filthy thief like you wasting Lord Guan's time? It's off to the mines with you!” The guard harshly proclaimed.
“Halt.” Guan Yu commanded the guard. “What is the name of your master?” He asked, whilst eyeing the red bag at Terrah's side.
“I-I don't know his name, and only refer to him as Old Man, but-”
“Lord Guan, allow us to take this thieving liar out of your sight-”
“But he grows dragon-potatoes at the edge of the valley! You must know him, he's big strong, and has a great white beard, and he teaches Toph Beifong poetry!”
“So you are the vagabond my niece has entangled herself with.” Guan Yu's voice was like thunder in Terrah's ears.
Something in the air must've shifted, and the guard recognized which way the wind was blowing, because he jumped down onto his knees, and began to bang his forehead on the road until it bled. He was soon joined by his four compatriots.
“I was wrong, Lord Guan Yu. I wrongly suspected this fine young man of thievery, forgive me, forgive me!” The man sobbed in terror, and spoke in a shrill tone.
“What do you think is a fitting punishment, boy?” Guan Yu asked, regarding Terrah as if he were some specimen under the microscope.
Terrah shivered under such intense scrutiny from this legendary [???] being.
“Do to them what they planned on doing to me. Fine them, and put them to work in the mines.” Terrah eventually said, and managed to look Guan Yu in the eyes.
“A Just punishment.” Guan Yu agreed.
“Lord Guan Yu, please, I have a family!”
“A soldier lying to his military commander, and abusing the power entrusted to him to protect the common people is grounds for execution. This is my mercy.” Guan Yu proclaimed with a heavy level of intensity.
Swiping down with the flat of his blade, Guan Yu knocked all 5 men unconscious with a single blow.
Guan Yu then walked past Terrah, and placed the bag of coins into Terrah's hands before walking away.
A group of troops that had been flanking Guan Yu rushed forward, and tied up the former guards.
“Welcome to Gaoling.”
Comments
Nyarlathotep Flagg
I like this Guan Yu... A more reasonable version of his myth I'd say.
Derisat
I'm upset there's only five chapters.
Michael DiVelbiss
Nice. I'm loving how humble and organic these beginnings are for protag. His system may permit him incredible growth but he still had to start at the bottom with only the shirt on his back and a pigsty for work. The only true advantages he's had are his wit and his hard work ethic (refusing to complain). An excellent take on a peasant to warrior journey. He truly was blessed to be under the care of Old Man regardless, but I do love the bits of lore being revealed in this clearly AU timeline. Nice use of alternate characters. That can only liven the story.
