[Trial failed. Please keep trying next time.]
As the system notification sounded, Gu Qi reappeared in the room where he had vanished.
Only his handsome face had turned into a pig's head again.
"What the hell? We're not even in the same weight class. How am I supposed to fight him?" Gu Qi thought gloomily as he took a swig of Secret Brew.
His opponent surpassed him in every way: agility, strength, martial arts, and defense.
Gu Qi felt that with his current strength, defeating his opponent was completely impossible.
"I just don't know if I can bring other items in. If I can, maybe there's still a way." Gu Qi stroked his chin, thinking.
If he could, Gu Qi could bring several hundred kilograms of explosives with him.
"No, no! He's a national treasure. That would be too cruel." Gu Qi shook his head, banishing the terrible idea from his mind.
Though he couldn't bring explosives, Gu Qi had thought of a good plan.
Unfortunately, he'd already been beaten up today, so he decided to come back tomorrow.
"Big Sister Hana, I'll leave Rass and the others with you." At the Inuzuka Clan's compound, Gu Qi brought Rass and the others over.
Hana Inuzuka patted the heads of the three little ones. "Don't worry. I'll do my best to train them."
"Goodbye, Big Sister Hana."
After bidding farewell to the three little ones, Gu Qi ran straight to Ichiraku Ramen.
"Boss, one order of ramen to go."
"Oh, it's Gu Qi. Aren't you eating here today?" Uncle Teuchi asked.
"No," Gu Qi replied with a shake of his head. "I have something to do."
"All right. It'll be ready in a moment."
A little while later, Teuchi handed Gu Qi an order of ramen.
"Thanks, Uncle. I'm off."
"Goodbye, Gu Qi."
Carrying the ramen, Gu Qi hurried straight home.
[Recharge complete. Trial commencing...]
In a daze, Gu Qi found himself back in the dojo, holding the bowl of ramen.
"You again! Next time you challenge me, could you come when it's not mealtime?"
Watching his opponent take bite after bite of a Meat Bun, Gu Qi grinned. "I came especially to treat you to ramen today. Come on, let's see whether your dad's cooking is better or this bowl of mine."
"Ramen? Great! I love ramen!" After swallowing the Meat Bun whole, his opponent rushed excitedly toward Gu Qi.
His vision blurred, and Gu Qi suddenly realized the bowl of ramen he'd been holding was now in his opponent's hands.
"Gasp!" Gu Qi couldn't help sucking in a breath. He was astonished to discover that his opponent was much faster than he'd estimated.
With speed like that, his opponent could beat him to a pulp.
"Broth simmered from beef bones, hand-kneaded noodles, and delicious dried seafood. Awesome! This is the work of a true noodle master." His opponent slurped loudly and praised the ramen.
After his opponent wolfed it all down, the bowl he handed back to Gu Qi was practically clean enough not to need washing.
"Thanks for the meal! Now, let's begin!" His opponent clasped his hands in thanks.
Gu Qi hurriedly waved his hands. "No, no! I'm not here to challenge you today. I just want to talk with you, Po!"
That's right. The incredibly fat fellow before him was Po, the protagonist of a certain animated film and the famous Dragon Warrior.
"Huh? You know my name?" Now it was Po's turn to be surprised.
Gu Qi looked at him admiringly. "Of course! You're the Dragon Warrior! I've heard so much about you."
"Haha, that's just a title. Only a title," Po said, looking a little embarrassed.
Though he said that, Gu Qi could tell from Po's broad grin that he loved being praised.
"I really like you, little guy. But since Your Majesty ordered me to guard the dojo and defeat any challengers, I have to give it my all," Po said apologetically.
Gu Qi seized on one word and couldn't help asking, "Your Majesty? Who's your ruler?"
"Why, the all-powerful Pandaren Emperor, of course!" Po replied with reverence.
"The Pandaren Emperor?"
Gu Qi was startled. He'd never played the legendary World of Warcraft, but he knew all about its famous Pandaren.
As far as Gu Qi knew, the Pandaren had their own unique Monk class.
And there was also the famous hero, Chen Stormstout.
But now there was Po, an unexpected arrival, and a Pandaren Emperor who'd suddenly appeared. The whole situation had become baffling.
Though he was full of questions, Gu Qi knew this wasn't the time to ask them.
"I'm not asking you to go easy on me! I'm just curious—where am I right now?" Gu Qi asked, looking like a curious child.
Po scratched his head. "Well..."
"What, your Emperor won't even let you tell me that?" Gu Qi asked, feigning curiosity.
Po rested his chin on his hand and thought for a moment. "Well... His Majesty only told me to test anyone who came to challenge me. He didn't say anything else, I don't think... probably... right?"
"Then there you go! Tell me, where is this place?" Gu Qi urged him.
Po felt like he'd forgotten something, but still answered honestly. "This is the homeland of us Pandaren: Pandaria."
"...?!" Gu Qi was now certain that this was definitely the homeland of the Pandaren from World of Warcraft.
Gu Qi continued asking, "Do you know why you have to test challengers?"
Po scratched his head. "His Majesty never told me that. Unless you defeat me, you won't be able to leave."
Gu Qi shrugged. He realized he wasn't going to get any useful information out of the honest Po.
It seemed the only way to find out what this scroll was for was to defeat Po.
"All right, that's enough for today! I have to go back." Since he'd accomplished what he'd come for, Gu Qi prepared to leave.
"System, let me out!" Gu Qi silently called to the system.
But the system didn't respond, and Gu Qi suddenly had a bad feeling.
Sure enough, Po said, "Master Mari of the Jinyu sages cast a secret spell here. Unless you defeat me or I defeat you, there's no way to leave.
"Also, you can't die here. Yesterday, I could tell you were holding back. There's no need for that.
"If you want to defeat me, you'll have to give it everything you've got."
"..." Gu Qi felt a colossal "Oh, for fuck's sake" lodged in his chest, impossible to spit out.
He silently wiped away the tears at the corners of his eyes, then spoke with the air of someone ready to face certain death. "Come on! Let's fight to the death!"
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