Playing Waterbending (Avatar: Last Aibender SI)

"What a strange man," said the leader of the bounty hunters. "The only thing that's going is your head to them and a hundred thousand golden coins in my pocket."

I had no obligation to reply to him.

All I saw in front of me were 20 punching bags that had appeared at the right time.

I channeled my Chi, feeling the surge of strength within me.

I felt as though I could create a tsunami single-handedly if I were in the ocean.

That's how much power I felt under the full moon.

"How about this, then?" Katara stretched out her hand. The water from her pouch extended, forming two water whips, each ending in a sharp ice blade.

Katara was already talented, as seen in the show. But thanks to my invented trick—healing the brain after training—she had picked up her lessons at an even more monstrous speed.

"Good grief. I was hoping for a breather," Toph said to the leader. "This time, I won't hold back."

"Toph, why don't you join us, and we'll split the money equally?" he replied.

"Money? Only poor folks like you think about that," she taunted, stepping forward. Each step she took created turmoil in the ground.

I stretched out my left hand, stopping both Katara and Toph from moving.

"Stay aside," I said, turning my head to the bounty hunters with an innocent smile. "They're mine."

A muscular, bare-chested earthbender seemed to take offense at my attempt to take them on alone.

He stomped on the ground and raised both hands, as if pushing something.

A circle appeared on the earth where I stood, and I found myself floating into the air. The earthbender who had lifted me wore a smug expression as he watched me rise.

I didn't know how to break it to them, but I, too, had been holding back.

Thanks to the system, I had a set of skills that would allow me to kill them easily.

But I wanted to use them to obtain bloodbending.

I gathered saliva in my mouth and spat in their direction.

The spit flew faster than anything they had ever seen.

Suddenly, it turned into steam, enveloping them in a thick mist that quickly cooled.

The split second their eyes lost sight of me was the moment I leaped off the rock and landed in the middle of their formation.

Thanks to my Stealth Skill, I remained hidden as long as I stood in their blind spots. Of course, such a skill would be useless against someone like Toph—unless it was at a higher level.

I stood behind them while they looked left and right, confused.

They muttered among themselves, wondering how spit could create a fog that blinded them. But they reassured themselves that the fog would dissipate soon, so they needed to stay alert for any sneak attacks.

They were wrong.

If I wanted, I could have taken their lives long ago.

From this distance, freezing any one of them would take less than a second.

With a simple touch, I could dehydrate them completely.

Compared to these earthbenders, who had spent most of their lives fighting underground, I had far more lethal experience.

"Where is that son of a bitch?" growled a giant earthbender, looking around as the fog began to thin.

I crouched behind him, my hand positioned between his legs.

"Playing with your kids," I joked as I focused on the water inside his body.

A moving tent appeared in his pants, shifting left and right.

At the same time, I mentally controlled two connected spheres, hitting them against each other.

"Mamma!" he screamed in pain.

I took a step back and made a pulling motion. The earthbender was dragged by an invisible force, screaming until he passed out.

Now, you might think these guys were allies—earthbenders blinded by greed, deciding to hand me over to the Fire Nation. I didn't blame them for that.

But there was one thing.

Even though I didn't blame them, showing mercy would only encourage more bounty hunters to see me as naive prey.

I didn't need that kind of annoyance in my life.

And honestly, I wasn't lacking sources of experience. Common earthbenders couldn't provide the same experience points as the monsters I could find in forests and deadly alleys.

[Defeating a strong earthbender]

[+5000 experience points]

"Okay, who's next?" I said.

The surprised earthbenders quickly took their stances and launched earth projectiles at me from every direction.

I channeled my Chi, creating a defensive aura.

[The full moon has provided its power to the host]

[The spirit of the moon is lending its power to the host.]

[All effects boosted by 200%]

The earth projectiles flew toward me from all sides.

A visible blue aura danced around my body like steam.

I tried to dodge the attacks, but a few struck me.

However, I noticed something strange.

When the rocks hit me, the blue aura didn't act as a solid barrier. Instead, it behaved like a slippery, fluid substance. Each rock that hit me was pushed away by the aura, which seemed to pull and then push the rocks aside.

'More like a waterbending barrier,' I thought to myself before deactivating the aura, as it was energy-consuming.

"You're truly evil, just as the Fire Nation has portrayed you!" yelled the leader of the bounty hunters.

I raised my hand, forming a V symbol. At the same time, I focused on the water I wanted to bend. With a twist of my wrist, every male present—except for me—fell to their knees, moaning in pain.

"Do you know who my first kill was?" I said as I walked around. "It was a traitor who snitched on Katara for being a waterbender."

"I don't care what people like you think of me—whether I'm evil or not. I can forgive Fire Nation soldiers for following orders. But I can't forgive people like you, who betray their own for money or power."

Katara, seeing everyone groaning in pain, approached me.

"How did you do that?" she asked.

Toph, who could sense what had happened, didn't give a direct answer. "It's like metalbending. You look for the little water…"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Katara asked.

"Remember, Katara, when we have sex, and then suddenly remember we might have children?"

"Oh, like when I or you would bend it. But this time, it can't get out, so it moves the organs. Oh my god. That's evil," she said, her eyes widening in realization. She covered her mouth with her hands.

The man who had called me evil, now groaning in pain, mustered his courage and said, "See? Even your woman agrees you're evil… Argh!"

Katara pointed her hand at him and pulled backward.

The man groaned in agony.

"I see," Katara said. "Since testicles are small, they're easy to move."

I was surprised she had learned it so quickly.

Then again, she had mastered bloodbending in a single day in the show.

And today was the full moon.

That old lady who could only bloodbend small rats could control a crowd under the full moon.

Never underestimate a waterbender under the full moon.

"Just so you know, it's not just men who have… fluids. Just saying," I said.

In other words, don't mess with me, or I'll mess with you.

"I know," she smirked, glancing at Toph. Then she looked at the men groaning in pain and asked, "So, what do we do with them?" There was a hint of sympathy in her expression.

I pointed at them and said, "If we don't make an example of them, more bounty hunters will come after us. I'll leave one alive to spread the tale."

One by one, the earthbender bounty hunters began to freeze.

The night, which hadn't started cold, ended in icy stillness.

Toph hugged her arms, shivering. "That's some really cold ice. Are all waterbenders this strong?"

Katara replied, "No. It's just Ryuk who's very good."

[+75,000 experience points]

[Skill Tree: Waterbending has unlocked a new skill]

[+ Skill: Pre-Bloodbending]

[You can now bend blood under the Full Moon]

[To unlock further power-ups, increase your spiritual power]